The Mole: Fiend's Burrow
by Vivalahomestar
Summary: Ten contestants are put to the ultimate challenge: compete in various tests of mind and body for the chance to win 500,000 coins. However, there's one major issue. Among them is the elusive Mole, a player who isn't who they say, someone whose goal is to secretly sabotage the game and bring the players to wit's end. Players must untangle the web of lies before they face execution.
1. Saboteur Skaters

**Disclaimer: I own neither Mario nor The Mole, they are owned by Nintendo and ABC respectively. This is purely a nonprofit work done out of admiration of both. No lawsuits please.**

**Author's Notes: Welcome to The Mole: Fiend's Burrow! Please note that none of the contestants are OCs, if you search any of these players' names on Mario wiki, you can get information on them. The exception is Wolley, but he's simply Yellow Toad from New Super Mario Bros Wii with a better name.**

**You have likely become familiar with the concept of the Mole with the now abundant number of Mole stories in the Mario section, but if you are unclear on some things, you'll understand by the end of chapter 1. I'd also like to note that I was the third author on this site to upload a Mario Mole story, following Krisetchers and Princess Toady.**

**Anywho, please enjoy the story and good luck finding the vilest of villains, the freakiest of fiends, the supreme saboteur ... the Mole.**

**-Vivalahomestar**

_Episode 1_

_{Voice Over}: Ten Excited contestants are about to embark on an amazing journey. They must work together, but compete against one another to earn money for the team and allow themselves to stay in the game. But, one of them is not a true contestant, he or she is a double agent, working to sabotage their fellow teammates while staying under cover, they are a liar, a cheater, a traitor… a mole._

A limo pulls up to a hillside overlooking Toad Town. Once the vehicle finally is at a complete stop, three figures step out, confused and excited.

_**Mario**_

_Last Name:__ Mario_

_Birthday:__ May 22_

_Job:__ Plumber/Adventurer _

_**Wolley**_

_Last Name: __Ohtoad_

_Birthday:__ December 19_

_Job:__ Royal Assistant_

_**Daisy**_

_Last Name:__ Sarasa_

_Birthday:__ June 2_

_Job:__ Pro Tennis Player_

The three contestants soon see another limo pulling up behind them; the limo stops and three more teammates step out.

_**Mona**_

_Last Name:__ Martin_

_Birthday:__ August 16_

_Job:__ Game Designer/ Cook_

_**Timpani **_

_Last Name:__ Bleck_

_Birthday:__ March 4_

_Job:__ Psychologist_

_**Mallow**_

_Last Name:__ Nimbus_

_Birthday:__ April 24_

_Job:__ Weatherman_

The newcomers and the slightly-less-newcomers look at each other in excitement and prepare to greet each other, when a third limo pulls up and three **more** contestants emerge.

_**Shy Guy**_

_Last Name:__ Maskio_

_Birthday:__ July 5_

_Job:__ Actor_

_**Toadiko**_

_Last Name:__ Shroomose_

_Birthday:__ September 8_

_Job:__ Scholar_

_**Jolene**_

_Last Name:__ Mush_

_Birthday:__ April 18_

_Job:__ Boxing Ref/Manager_

While the three looked around, the other six wondered if there were any more coming. They were answered soon when a fourth (and final) limo pulled up, but only one player came out.

_**Monty**_

_Last Name:__ Mole_

_Birthday:__ January 17_

_Job:__ Miner_

"What's up?" asked Monty as he approached the rest of the contestants.

"We don't really know," answered Shy Guy, "We haven't been here long."

"Isn't there supposed to be a host here or a something?" asked Mario glancing around, as if the host was hiding.

"Actually," said Monty, "I think there was some guy sitting up front with the driver in my limo. Maybe that's him."

"You are in fact correct, Monty!" said an unknown voice, everyone turned to the limos to see a Blooper wearing a black t-shirt with a large green thumbprint on it and a fluffy, white beanie approaching them. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Anderson Blooper and I will be your host." Several hellos went up from the group, but most were too interested to greet him. "I must welcome you all to this exciting game of The Mole: Fiend's Burrow!" There was some clapping, but once again, most people were too interested to do much. "You all will be working together to compete in different challenges testing your wits, strength, speed, and several skills you haven't even thought about. When you successfully complete a challenge, money is awarded to the team pot, which can grow up to 500,000 coins!"

"Alright!" cheered Mona.

"That's awesome!" agreed Daisy.

Wolley chuckled and said, "Looks like one of us is gonna be rich! We shouldn't even have to try much!"

More cheers would follow, but Anderson interrupted them, "This may seem like an easy task, however that is far from the truth." The cheering abruptly stopped.

"What do you mean," asked Jolene worriedly.

"One of you isn't quite who you think they say they are. You may have thought you all were working together, just trying to become the receptor of all that money, but that's not the case." Several gasps rang out from the crowd, "One of you is deceiving the others," started Anderson, "One of you is a liar, a cheater, a saboteur, a mole trying to ruin your challenges."

Everyone glared at Monty, "Hey!" he shouted, angered, "You don't even know me! How could you say such a thing?" he asked, now hurt.

Anderson just chuckled, "I'm sorry! I should have explained better! We don't use the phrase 'the mole' literally, when we say mole, we mean what I defined earlier, so I'm not talking about you," he paused, "or do I?" he asked mysteriously, "any of you could be the mole, but only one of you is here to sabotage the others, but who? That's the mystery."

"Um, excuse me?" asked Timpani, raising her hand.

"Yes?" asked Anderson.

"Why do we need to know who The Mole is?" she asked.

"Ah, yes, this is a very crucial point, I'm glad you mentioned it!" said Anderson, "At the end of each episode, you will be quizzed on who you think the mole is; the contestant with the lowest score will be eliminated and must leave the game. So, if you know who the mole is, you'll make it to the end for sure."

"Hm, this sounds tricky," put in Toadiko, getting several murmurs of agreement.

"Oh it is," said Anderson, "but we have other matters at the moment, are you all ready for your first challenge?"

"Oh yeah!" shouted the ten contestants excitedly.

"Well, let's go over here shall we?" the host asked, walking over to a large hole in the ground which was actually a large pipe. Several of them noticed ten skateboards lying on the ground near the pipe. "Welcome to your first challenge! This one is called 'Pipeline Rocketboard.' Allow me to explain," he walked over to the skateboards, "You will lie down on one of these skateboards and ride down the pipe, which will greatly increase your speed. You will then shoot out the end, falling ten feet to the ground and ride down the streets to Toad Town where you should stop near the front gates of Princess Peach's castle," he explained, "Any questions?"

"That sounds pretty scary!" said Mallow, "Do we have to go?"

"Actually, you don't," said Anderson, allowing mallow to give a sigh of relief, "BUT!" he started, causing Mallow to jump along with the rest of the group, "If you don't, you'll lose money for the team pot," he said, getting a few nervous cries out of a few select people. "So, in order to win, everyone must go, if you all do so, you'll earn 20,000 coins for the team pot, but if even **one **of you doesn't, then you'll earn nothing. So, who wants to go first?"

"I'll do it!" shouted Daisy, running over to Anderson who handed her a skateboard.

"Okay Ms. Sarasa, lie down on the skateboard directly in front of the pipe," instructed the host, Daisy did so and the blooper prepared to push her down, "Are you ready?"

"Yep," said Daisy, sounding nervous, but screaming with excitement within seconds as she rushed down the pipe. After about ten seconds, everyone could see her fly out of the end of the pipe and down the streets of Toad Town, Toads scrambling to avoid being hit by the Princess of Sarasaland. As she slowed down, some of the contestants cheered with excitement, while the others shook with fear.

"Well, one down, nine to go!" narrated Anderson, "Who's next?"

"I guess I'll go," said Monty, waddling over to Anderson, who gave him the same instructions as he gave Daisy, "Alright, I'm ready," said the literal mole before the host gave him a push and he began screaming like Daisy did.

"That doesn't look too bad!" commented Wolley.

"Yeah, it looks pretty fun!" agreed Mona.

"I think it looks pretty scary," put in Toadiko.

"Yeah, me too," said Mallow.

"Hey, I think he's done," announced Jolene and sure enough, Monty had come to a stop and was chatting with Daisy.

* * *

"Wow, that was crazy!" said Monty, standing up, "What'd you think?" he asked Daisy.

"It was awesome!" yelled Daisy, fixing up her hair. "Do you think everyone will do it?"

"Everyone but the mole, unless it's you or I," said Monty with a mischievous glint in his eye making Daisy laugh.

"Well I can say I'm not the mole, but maybe one of them is, I don't think we could tell though, several of them seemed nervous about going," said Daisy.

"I'm not gonna make predictions yet," put Monty, "It's too early."

"Yeah," started Daisy, "Hey! Somebody else is going!" she suddenly shouted.

* * *

"Well, that's one fifth down! I bet you all can do it!" reassured Anderson, but then asked, "Who's ready to go next?"

Mona quickly jumped up excitedly, "Me! I'll go!" she shouted and ran over to Anderson who told her to lie down on the skateboard.

"I don't even need to ask you if you're ready do I?"

"Nope! I. Am. Ready!" replied Mona and sped down the pipe, quickly coming out and like the others, heading down the streets of Toad Town, her hair flapping behind her in the wind. By now, the Toads had cleared the streets to avoid being hit, but many watched from the sidewalks and several of them cheered. Mona eventually slowed as she approached the gates to Peach's Castle. She finally stopped and got up to greet the other two. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed.

"It is isn't it?" Monty agreed rhetorically.

"Totally!" agreed Daisy. "So, do **you** think they'll all go?"

"I don't know," admitted Mona, "But I feel sorry for any of them that don't."

* * *

"Any more volunteers?" asked Anderson.

"Meh, why not? It looks fun anyways," said Wolley, walking over to the host who had him go through the same routine as the others and yelled as he was sent down.

"That a doesn't seem too bad," said Mario.

"I agree, everyone seems to be having fun," said Timpani.

"Well, it seems Wolley will be done in a matter of seconds, so do we have our next skateboarder?" asked Anderson.

Timpani raised her hand, "I'll go," she said simply and was sent down, trying to keep her rainbow dress from blowing up with the intense speed, "WOOOOAAAAAAAH!" was all the contestants up top could hear as yet another one of them went down. She arrived at the castle gates, to be greeted by everyone as she tied her blonde (but it was so light that it looked nearly white) hair back into a pony tail.

"Wow, she seems unfazed," pointed out Jolene, "Maybe I should go next."

"Feel free," said Anderson holding out a skateboard. Jolene accepted and closed her eyes as she went down the steep pipe to the streets where a large crowd had gathered, cheering for her and the rest as they went down, Jolene even recognized some fighters from the Glitz Pit, cheering for specifically her. Her skateboard finally came to a stop where the others eagerly awaited her arrival!

"Nice job going through!" congratulated Timpani.

"Pretty crazy isn't it?" asked Mona.

"I think everyone thinks it's crazy," pointed out Wolley.

"I would agree," said Monty.

Daisy walked up closer to Jolene, "So, I have to ask what's on everybody's mind, do you have any guesses on the Mole from how everyone is acting?"

"Not really," admitted Jolene, "I guess maybe Toadiko or Mallow because they're nervous, but I don't know considering I was nervous earlier."

"What about Shy Guy?" asked Wolley, "He's hardly said anything."

"Well, he _is_ a Shy Guy," pointed out Daisy.

"Well, I don't think we need to think about it that much right now," said Monty, "But what I wanna know is who's comin' down next."

"Probably Mario," said Timpani, looking up at the hill.

* * *

"Anyone else?" asked Anderson, looking specifically at Mario.

"How about a you, Shy Guy?" asked Mario looking at the masked creature.

"It kind of looks scary," whispered Shy Guy.

"Come a on! The others looked like they were a having fun!" reassured Mario. Shy Guy slowly nodded and slunk over to Anderson who got him in the starting position.

"Are you ready?" asked the host.

"Uh-huh," replied Shy Guy, a sense of dread coming over him. Anderson pushed him and he started down the pipe. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" shouted Shy Guy as he went down. Once he came out of the pipe, it could be seen he was struggling to keep his robe and mask from blowing off. Once his skateboard stopped, he got up, shaking.

"Good job Shy Guy!" cheered Mona, patting him on the back.

"That was scary," he muttered, sitting down on the ground, but seeming pleased with himself.

"So, we have Toadiko, Mario, and Mallow left," listed Wolley.

"I wonder if everyone will be able to go," wondered Jolene.

"Mario convinced me to go," said Shy Guy simply, looking up in hope of seeing another going down.

_Shy Guy: __That was really scary, but I'm glad that I was able to help out the team…can I stop talking now?_

* * *

Back up top, nobody seemed to want to go. "Anybody?" asked Anderson, but when nobody responded, Mario turned to Toadiko.

"Why don't you a give it a try?" Mario asked Toadiko.

"It just seems so scary!" cried Toadiko.

"I a know you've faced things much scarier than this! You can a do it!" reassured Mario.

"I just can't!" replied Toadiko.

"Well, if nobody volunteers within 30 seconds, you'll forfeit the game and lose the money," said Anderson. Mario started to panic.

"Please Toadiko! Do a this for the team!" pleaded Mario.

Toadiko gulped, "Okay, I'll do it," she muttered, walking over to Anderson and sighing.

"Great!" exclaimed the host handing her the skateboard, "Lie down on this in front of the pipe please." Toadiko obeyed, "Are you ready?" The toadette could only nod as anticipation took her over. A light tap was given and a scream ran out.

* * *

"Did I just hear somebody go down?" asked Mona, hearing the scream.

"That sounded like…Toadiko?" said Timpani, finishing once she saw said contestant come out of the pipe. Everyone clapped (and Mona and Daisy cheered) as Toadiko came to a halt with the rest of them; she seemed pretty shaken.

"Pretty scary isn't it?" greeted Shy Guy.

Toadiko smiled, "Yeah, it is."

_Toadiko: That was terrifying! I don't want to do anything like that again! Though, I have the feeling I'll have to later._

"Well, we have two left," commented Monty, "Mario and Mallow. Will they do it?"

"I bet Mario will do it, but I'm not sure about Mallow," put in Daisy.

"If he doesn't, he's on my list," grumbled Wolley, Toadiko shot him a shocked look.

"Don't be so harsh," she said, "It's very scary!"

Wolley just sighed, "I gotta be cautious right?"

_Wolley: I'm not sure if I should be trusting right now… The Mole could be anywhere._

* * *

"Now then, our last two. Who will go now and who will be last?" asked Anderson, looking at the two.

"Why don't you go now Mario?" asked Mallow.

"Because you a might not go otherwise," said Mario.

"C'mon Mario! Please! It's scary!" pleaded Mallow.

Mario took on a stern tone, "Mallow, I know you can do it! You used to be like this, but not now," insisted the plumber.

Mallow sighed, "Fine." He walked over to Anderson, lied down on the skateboard and clenched his eyes shut. "I'm ready," he said. He was pushed and tore down the pipe, screaming in a mix of terror and slight joy. Once he came out of the pipe, the camera caught the fact that the wind had been blowing into his eyes, forcing them to tear up.

"Whoops, might have pushed him a bit too hard," said Anderson a bit evilly. He then turned to Mario, "So, why did you decide to go last?" he asked in a patronizing tone.

"I a just thought some of them would need some persuading," he defended.

"Well, whatever the reason, you're still last, so could you please wear this for the sake of our viewers?" asked Anderson, holding a camera helmet.

"Okay!" said Mario cheerily, grabbing the helmet and putting it on his head. As he did so, a wrinkled up piece of lined paper fell out. Mario bent down, picked it up and flattened it out.

"_You never know where the mole is. Even the tiniest clues shouldn't be ignored."_

Confused, Mario looked up at Anderson who just shrugged, "Ready to go?" Mario nodded, stuffed the paper in his pocket and lied down on the skateboard. "See you at the bottom," said Anderson, pushing Mario down the pipe.

{View switches to Helmet Cam.} Mario started at a minor incline, steadily gaining speed, suddenly the pipe goes to a steep decline, Mario going so fast that his mustache blew up into the view of the camera. "Waahooooo!" he shouted. The pipe stated to level out and soon, Mario came out of a Cliffside, over some shrubs and onto a grey, paved road, Toads cheering on either side. The road was on a very shallow decline, but had various flats and eventually leveled out as he approached Peach's Castle. He finally came to a stop, the other contestants standing around him and cheering for their first successful mission. The plumber slowly stood up and removed the helmet. {View switches back to normal.}

"Whohoo! We did it!" shouted Daisy.

"20,000 coins for us!" cheered Monty.

"Take that mole!" said Timpani.

"Hopefully we'll get some rest after this exciting beginning," wished Jolene.

A laugh rang out, "I'm sure you'll soon learn that this show is far from restful," said Anderson walking up to the group. Several members sighed from his comment.

"So, do we get our reward?" asked Mallow.

"Of course!" said Anderson, "Your first challenge is successful with an earning of 20,000 coins for the Team Pot!"

**Team Pot**

**0 Coins**

**(plus)**

**20,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 20,000 Coins**

"Cool!" said Mona, "Not too shabby at all!"

"But this challenge may give us some suspicions," put in Anderson, breaking the celebration. "Maybe it was Toadiko, Mallow, or Shy Guy, who wouldn't have gone if it weren't for Mario's moral support," three mentioned members tensed. "Or perhaps it was Mario who may have tried to seem unlike the mole," Mario just glared. "Or maybe the Mole just decided to do nothing special whatsoever," he said looking at the unmentioned members. "Nobody knows…except for the Mole."

"Jeez, enough with the Mole talk already," muttered Shy Guy, clutching his head, or where his head is assumed to be.

"Of course, we do have more important matters on our hands," said Anderson, "Well, I wouldn't say more important, nothing is more important than the Mole in this game, but it is more immediate. We need to see our place of residence for the time being!" he said, turning to the castle gates.

"We're staying at Peach's Castle?!" asked Mona in disbelief.

"Of course!" answered the host, "Since we're in Toad Town, why not stay at the famous Mushroom Castle?"

"Awesome!" squealed Mona.

_Mona: I was shocked when I found out we were staying in Peach's Castle! I've so many cool things about the place. I can't wait!_

Anderson pulled out a large key with a mushroom on it and unlocked the gate. A few toad guards opened the gates and another approached the group. "Welcome, contestants of the Mole!" he greeted, "Princess Peach is waiting for you." He then led them through the large front lawn where the contestants got to admire the gorgeous scenery.

_Wolley: Wow, I live at the castle, but the front lawn still seems so breathtaking! I guess we castle workers did a good job on it then! Maybe I should ask for a raise…_

As the contestants walked down the pathway through the lawn, their guide pointed out several different bush sculptures such as a toad, a fire flower, mushrooms, ect. During said tour, Anderson seemed to vanish to parts unknown.

Finally the group approached the large, beautifully decorated front door of Peach's Castle. The toad guide and another Toad pulled them open by large, pearl handles that revealed the inside of the castle.

"Dang this place is nice," said Monty, looking around at the elegant arches and peach-colored walls and just about every single thing hanging on the wall. Most of the others did so too, but the ones who had been there many times, such as Mario, Daisy, Wolley, and Toadiko just gave some minor glances around the place, noticing it had been cleaned up just for the occasion. They came to a junction with three ways to go, a hallway on the left and right side of the room another large door straight ahead.

"This is the door to the throne room," said one of the Toads, "Princess Peach will speak with you in there."

"It's sure been awhile," muttered Mallow as they walked in. The throne room was mostly empty, with a few columns that rose to the ceiling on each side of the room, but it was mostly just a carpet that led to Peach's throne.

"Hello!" said Peach cheerily, "Welcome to the Mushroom Castle! I hope you'll be enjoying it, because you'll be staying here for the next couple days!" Everyone said something along the lines of "We will" and Peach seemed satisfied. "However," started the Princess, "there is one problem." The contestants stiffened. "Your host, Anderson has informed me that you cannot keep you luggage in your own suit cases. You must repack you backs in the bags the show has provided for you," she informed pointing to a pile of bags. "He also said that you must leave out one outfit from your suitcase, I'm not sure why, but that's we he told me."

The contestants walked over to their new bags that each had a design for its designated user. Mario's had a M surrounded by fire. Wolley's had a yellow mushroom on it with several smaller mushrooms surrounding it. Daisy's showed several different colors of daisy's in a field. Mona's had Gameboy on it as well as several foods like pizza and ice cream surrounding it. Timpani's simply had a rainbow butterfly on it. Mallow's showed a thundercloud shooting a lightning bolt into a mountain. Shy Guy's had an image of his mask on it. Toadiko's had a pink mushroom with golden earrings on it. Jolene's had a pink mushroom with glasses much like hers on. Lastly, Monty's had an image of a Monty Mole jumping.

Everyone picked their outfits and let Peach's Toads take them as they were led to their rooms, not knowing that they would soon be facing yet another challenge.

**A.N.: Dun Dun DUUUUN! ****Well, looks like the contestants may be underestimating the game. That shall end soon or they will fall victim to the Mole.**

** Please read on and review and don't forget to make your predictions on who the mole is!**


	2. A Sniper in Our Midst

**A.N.: In case you get confused on the layout of the castle, it's Peach's Castle from Mario and Luigi: Partner's in Time, but with a few minor changes such as a few more rooms for guests and the location of Peach's room.**

All of the contestants had been assigned rooms in the hallway to the left of the throne room. Daisy and Mona were in the closest door on the right side, Timpani and Jolene were in the far room on the left side, Shy Guy had the left room on the far wall, Toadiko had the right room on the far wall, Mario and Mallow had the far room on the right side, and Wolley and Monty had the closest room on the right side.

**{Wolley and Monty's Room}**

"Have a good day sirs," a Toad politely said, shutting the door as he left.

"Wait a minute!" shouted Monty, but the Toad didn't hear him.

"Dude, chill, what's so important?" asked Wolley, a bit freaked.

"We never got our bags!"

"What!" exclaimed Wolley. "Oh, I have a _baaaaad _feeling about this!"

"Probably another dang challenge," pouted Monty, plopping himself onto his bed. "Huh, what's this?" he asked holding up and black book with a green thumbprint on it and had "Monty" printed on it in white. He flipped it open, "It's empty!"

"I got one too," said Wolley from his bed, holding up a notebook identical to Monty's, except for his said "Wolley" instead. He then noticed the piece of paper taped to the wall. "This'll probably explain it."

"_Contestants, I'm sure you've noticed the blank books on your beds. Well, those are very important books. Those are your journals; they are for you to keep track of anything suspicious that's happened during the game. So, write away._

_-Anderson Blooper"_

_Monty: Hm. This may be valuable._

**{Timpani and Jolene's Room}**

"Journals?" asked Jolene holding hers up, "Will we really need these?"

"Of course!" defended Timpani, "If we keep track of everything suspicious, then it'll be easier to pinpoint the mole! I'm gonna start writing in it right now!" she said, grabbing a pen from one of the side tables and scribbling on the first page.

"Do you already have suspects?" asked Jolene, putting on a more serious look and adjusting her glasses.

"Not really, I'm just writing down what Anderson said after the mission," said Timpani. Jolene sighed.

"I have a feeling I'm not gonna do well on the quizzes," moaned Jolene, lying down on her bed.

**{Daisy and Mona's Room}**

Mona scribbled furiously in her journal while Daisy just wrote down a couple of notes.

"What are you writing?" asked Daisy, confused and alarmed at the amount her roommate was putting down.

"I'm recording everything I've been told, noticed, or heard," said Mona, "I will **not** be the mole's first victim!" she said, her tone becoming angry, but determined.

"I wouldn't worry so much if I were you," suggested Daisy, "You don't need to completely obsess over it."

_Daisy: Mona's freaking out a bit. Honestly I don't think it's __**that **__important._

"I'm not gonna be **this **crazy latter, but it's important to have a suspect of some form or another this early, or you'll be out!" explained Mona in a hyper way.

"Do you think the mole had anything to do with our bags not being here?" asked Daisy.

"I don't- WAIT WHAT!" freaked Mona, "Our bags aren't here? This can't end well can it?"

Only the Mole knew that it couldn't.

**{Mario and Mallow's Room}**

Mario and Mallow were both scribbling in their journals. They had been in the room for a while, but hadn't said much. Finally, Mallow shut his journal. "What's your strategy Mario?"

Mario closed his journal and thought for a moment, "Let's see…Play my hardest, be attentive, and don't put my-a full trust into anybody. Pretty much using skills I've a gained on my adventures."

"Hopefully I'll be able to get an advantage from our adventure," groaned Mallow, "I'll be lucky to even survive the first execution." The prince thought for a few seconds before asking, "Do you think we'll get our bags back?"

"Probably, but we may a have to work for a-them," said the plumber.

"How do you know?" asked Mallow, suspicious.

"I a-don't, but I've seen the show before and the player's usually have to do something to a get their bags."

"So, **that's** what you do between adventures!" laughed Mallow.

"Yup, playing sports, having parties, and-a watching The Mole!" chuckled Mario.

"So, any guesses about the Mole?"

"I may have a few," replied Mario slyly.

"Well, I'm practically clueless!" said Mallow, "Maybe Shy Guy considering he's an actor and hides his identity with his mask and robe," he guessed.

"He is-a one of my suspicions," agreed Mario.

"Who else?"

"Not so-a fast!" said Mario, "I'm-a not gonna tell you everything! You gotta make your own guesses," he said sternly.

_Mallow: I was hoping I could get Mario to help me out, but he's right, I need to fend for myself here… Oh no._

Mallow sighed, "Well, I may be in trouble then."

"All of us are in trouble, except-a for the Mole."

**{Toadiko's Room}**

Toadiko sat nervously in her room, she had written a little bit in her journal, but she was mainly worrying about the next challenge in her head.

_Toadiko: I was really nervous about what was coming up next. I knew something was up with our bags not being delivered and I figured we'd have a challenge soon. I hope I'm wrong._

She was right.

**{Shy Guy's Room/Hallway}**

There was a knock on the door causing Shy Guy to quickly look up. He shut his journal and walked over to the door. He opened it to see a Toad at the door.

"Anderson requests all of you in the castle garden. It's located in the middle of the castle," said the Toad. Shy Guy gave him a polite, but quiet "Thank You" before the Toad walked over to Toadiko's door to repeat what he said to her, then to the others. Toadiko soon stepped out into the hallway and looked over at her fellow contestant.

"Are you nervous too?" she asked. Shy Guy nodded. "I sure hope the Mole doesn't sabotage this challenge."

"That would be bad," said Shy Guy, a little less shy with only one other around.

Mario and Mallow soon stepped out of their room the earlier of which was holding his journal. "You-a guys ready?" asked the plumber.

"The guy _and girl_ are ready," huffed Toadiko.

"It's just an expression," defended Mario.

Monty and Wolley approached the group "Shall we get going?" asked the literal mole.

"Maybe we should wait for the others," suggested Shy Guy, growing quiet again.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," said Wolley shrugging. So, they waited and were soon joined by Mona, Daisy, Timpani, and Jolene.

**{Castle Garden}**

"Welcome to your second challenge everybody!" greeted Anderson. "Now, before I explain the game, I need one person who is a sharpshooter." Shy Guy, Mario, and Daisy all raised their hands.

"Actually, Shy Guy is a better-a shot than me," said Mario, backing down.

"Okay, you go ahead Shy Guy," agreed Daisy, also backing down.

"So, Shy Guy is your choice?" asked Anderson, everyone nodded, "Well, maybe that was a bad idea, because he'll be working against you." There were a couple of gasps, but mainly confused looks.

"This mission is called 'Bag Shooter.' You'll each receive a clue to a location in the castle where the outfit one of your teammates left out is. You must retrieve the outfit and bring it back into the garden in order to save their bag and earn 2,000," explained the host.

"That doesn't sound too bad," said Timpani.

"Well, there's more," said Anderson, getting sighs of exasperation, "Shy Guy will stay here in the garden and every two minutes will attempt to shoot down a random bag with an arrow," he said, pointing up to the ten bags hanging over pipes, "If a bag is shot down, it will be eaten by a Piranha Plant and 2,000 coins will be lost. If you manage to save a bag, your bag will be moved to a farther pipe that is harder to shoot at. Any questions?"

Shy Guy raised his hand, "Why would I want to shoot the bags down?"

"If you successfully shoot down four bags, then you'll get an exemption," he said, holding up a green, plastic card, "It automatically makes safe at tomorrow night's execution," explained Anderson. Shy Guy's eyes widened.

_Shy Guy: I have to get that exemption. I can't be executed._

_Mona: If Shy Guy is really a good shot, then we could be in big trouble._

Shy Guy's bag was lowered and taken to safety before Anderson asked, "Any more questions," nobody spoke up, so he handed out slips of paper to each searcher and said, "Your time starts now!"

Each searcher read their paper,

_Daisy's Paper:__ Monty's outfit is the opposite of logic by far, in a room of a rising star._

_Jolene's Paper:__ Toadiko's clothes aren't quite where you'd think, below where a leader may catch a wink._

_Mallow's Paper:__ Mario's outfit lies in a place where he tends to work, in a place that the dark does lurk._

_Mario's Paper:__ Timpani's outfit is a high flier; past a place you don't want a fire._

_Mona's Paper:__ Wolley's clothes lie below you where you do._

_Monty's Paper:__ Daisy's clothes are easy to find, in something about her name you've thought of in your mind._

_Timpani's Paper:__ Jolene's outfit is in a place you first passed through, a gateway that's name isn't too new._

_Toadiko's Paper:__ Mona's outfit is close to the place where you lay, out a place, look you may._

_Wolley's Paper:__ Mallow's outfit is with royalty, just ask and the clothes you will see._

Mona, who finished reading her's first, quickly looked down, but saw nothing. "Below where I lie… My bed!" she shouted, before dashing off. Wolley quickly read his, but it took him a second to think of anything.

"Royalty?" he muttered, turning to Daisy, "Hey Daisy! Do you have Mallow's outfit?"

"No," said Daisy confused, "Why would I?"

Wolley looked over his paper, "My paper says it's with royalty."

"Try Princess Peach," suggested Daisy. Wolley nodded and ran towards the throne room.

Mario, being familiar with the castle, only took about thirty seconds to figure his out. "The observation deck!" he said and ran out of the garden, taking the stairs up to a corridor that lead to the castle library. He passed through, with the camera men struggling to keep up, with many toads giving him confused and annoyed looks as he loudly dashed through. He came out onto an outdoor hallway and into a room with a very long and winding staircase, so most of his climbing was cut out until he got up to the observation deck where he saw Timpani's dress hanging on a flagpole. He easily jumped up and grabbed it and ran back.

**{Meanwhile... Princess Peach's Throne}**

Wolley ran in frantically, huffing and puffing. "Hi Wolley!" said Peach cheerily, "What do you need?"

"I *huff* need *puff* Mallow's outfit!" he managed to say, "I also need to get in shape," he added under his breath.

"Well, you seemed to have an easy time with your clue!" commented Peach in a non-confrontational manor. "Here you go!" she said, giving Wolley a pair of striped khaki pants and a bright orange t-shirt.

"T-thanks" puffed Wolley, running back towards the garden just as Jolene ran in.

"Princess! I need to know where your room is! I think Toadiko's clothes are under your bed!" blurted Jolene.

Peach pointed to a door nobody had noticed before, "Just up those stairs!" she said. Jolene nodded in thanks and ran through the door.

**{The Castle Garden}**

Nobody else seemed to be making any progress with their clues and by the first 2 minute mark, it seemed the same way. "Alright! Two minutes have gone by!" announced Anderson. He then whipped out an upside-down hat filled with pieces of paper and pulled out a random slip of paper, "Okay Shy Guy, your target bag is…Mallow's. It was visible that Mallow was starting to freak out.

Shy Guy toke aim with the bow and shot clean through the rope holding up Mallow's bag, making it fall into the pipe below.

"NO!" shouted Mallow stomping on the ground. He then looked back at his slip, determined to solve the clue.

"One down, three to go, Shy Guy," said Anderson.

_Shy Guy: I must admit that this challenge has helped unleash my mischievous side to an extent. It brings back some good old memories._

_Mallow: This challenge is just evil._

After a few seconds, Mona arrived with a yellow vest and some diaper-like jeans. "I got Wolley's clothes" she shouted.

"Good job Mona! You've earned 2,000 coins and saved Wolley's bag!" announced Anderson. So, Wolley's bag was lowered and Mona's bag was moved to a strategic location.

Mallow final understood his clue and started checking the pipes, but only to find piranha plants, so he went back dejectedly.

Next, Toadiko finally understood her clue and sped off to her room, muttering something about a window. Just as she left, Wolley arrived with Mallow's clothes, "I *puff* got Mallow's clothes!" he said, but Anderson and Mallow just gave him sad looks. "Am I too late?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Mallow's bag was shot down," said Anderson.

Wolley turned to Mallow with an apologetic look, "Sorry man, I tried my best."

Mallow sighed, "It's fine, my bag was first choice, so nobody could have got back on time. But, on the bright side, your bag is safe," he said. Wolley still looked like he felt bad, but didn't say anything other than a sigh.

Daisy seemed to be having luck with her clue, "Opposite of logic… high up I guess," she said, "In the room of the rising star….The East Tower!" she shouted and dashed out of the garden, passing Mario on her way out and heading the same route as the plumber.

_Daisy: I feel like some clues were harder than others. I had to of gotten one of the harder ones, but I solved it, so I should get going._

Upstairs and through the library she went, making several toads even more mad about the stomping, but she didn't notice, she dashed out to the outdoor hallway and went right to the eastern tower where she found and empty room with a black shirt sitting on the floor. The shirt was some shirt from a concert for a band called "Monty and the Moles".

"That's suspicious," she muttered before heading back as fast as she could.

**{Meanwhile… The Castle Garden}**

Mario came back with Timpani's dress, "I got it!" he shouted allowing Timpani to give a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Mario," she said. Then, Mario's bag was moved to where Mona's was and Timpani's was taken down.

"2,000 more coins!" said Anderson, "But it's also been four minutes so, the next person is… Mario!" Mario froze, looking nervous. Shy Guy aimed, fired and shot Mario's bag down.

"Mama-mia!" said Mario, looking down.

"Two down, two to go, Shy Guy!" said Anderson.

_Mario: I'm not-a happy about losing my bag, but I can't-a blame Shy Guy, he was just-a trying to get an exemption… Though, I will blame him if he's-a the Mole._

"Sorry Mario," said Mallow, "My clue said it was in a pipe, but I checked all the pipes and it wasn't there!"

"Um, actually I-a think there's another pipe on the first floor," admitted Mario, "But don't feel bad, you don't know the castle very well and I do," he added, seeing the look on Mallow's face.

"This is bad!" said Mona, "He didn't even have to try when aiming for the harder pipe!"

"Well, I guess it wasn't such a good idea to pick him," chuckled Anderson, receiving death glares from several contestants. "I'm sure you'll learn this later."

Now, Toadiko arrived with a biker outfit "Um, I got the clothes. Is that all I need to do?"

"Yep! 2,000 coins for the team pot!" announced Anderson, "And it's been six minutes! Now the next victim may be…Monty!"

"Say what?" asked Monty. Shy Guy shot and hit just before Daisy came in.

"I got- no!" she shouted as she saw Monty's clothes fall into the pipe.

"Sorry Daisy, but you were literally a second too late," said Anderson, "On a related note, Shy Guy only needs one more bag for an exemption!" Shy Guy just grinned. Still, Daisy's clothes were moved out of the firing zone.

Suddenly, Monty face palmed himself, "Of Course!" he shouted and looked around to find a large bed of daisies where, sure enough, Daisy's alternate outfit (some tennis clothes) was sitting there. "I'm an idiot, but I found Daisy's clothes!" he yelled.

"Thank you Monty!" she said, looking guilty.

"2,000 more coins right?" asked Monty.

"Of course!" said Anderson.

Meanwhile, Timpani was struggling, "Gateway? Like a door? Yes! The front door!" she said and dashed through the castle halls, passing a disgruntled toad from the library.

"Gah!" he shouted.

"What's his problem?" Timpani muttered under her breath. Soon, she arrived at the front door, but she saw nothing, "Darn!" she said, but then quickly ran outside and checked and there on the handle was a sparkling, black dress. "Is this even Jolene's?" asked Timpani, however, not wanting to waste time, she just shrugged and ran back with it.

**{Meanwhile… The Castle Garden… Again}**

Jolene finally got back with Toadiko's outfit, "Sorry, I got lost. Did I make it on time?"

"One, very suspicious," saidAnderson, getting another glare, "And two, yes, you're on time! 2,000 coins!" So, her bag was moved to the strategic location. "It all depends on Timpani now. And, it's time for the last shot!" said Anderson.

"I got this," whispered Shy Guy. He shot and barely nicked the rope, partial splitting it.

"It's a race against gravity," said Anderson, "What will happen first? Will the bag fall, or will Timpani arrive?" His question was soon answered when a large snapping sound rang out and the bag plummeted into the pipe where a piranha plan caught it in its mouth.

"Oh," gasped Jolene, "Darn it!"

Just about then Timpani arrived with the black dress in tow. But when she saw that no bags were up, she sank to the ground in despair and guilt.

_Timpani: I wish I could have gotten back in time, but it was a race against gravity and when that happens, gravity usually wins._

_Jolene: Why does Shy Guy have to be such a good shot?_

"Sorry Timpani, you failed," said Anderson, receiving yet more glares, "Please cool it with the glares, the game is just like this." The crowd obeyed and Anderson seemed pleased. "Now let's get to the results shall we? You saved five out of nine bags so you earned 10,000 coins, plus 2,000 coins for Shy Guy's bag.

**Team Pot**

**20,000 Coins**

**12,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 32,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 40,000 Coins**

_Mona: I feel like we could have done better, but we're still doing well, so I'm happy._

_Toadiko: I wonder if the Mole had anything to do with this._

"And let's not forget that since Shy Guy successfully shot down four bags, he gets an exemption!" said Anderson. Several people gave looks of jealousy as Anderson handed him the green card. "So, this challenge was likely to be sabotaged by the mole. Was the mole one of the members who failed to get save the others' bags on time?" asked Anderson causing people to look around worriedly, "Perhaps Shy Guy was the mole and just got the exemption as a side effect. Or maybe they didn't do anything. Like always, only the mole knows."

"Yes I do," joked Monty getting a laugh out of everyone.

"So, what now?" asked Wolley.

"Actually, you can roam free and explore the town for the day!" said Anderson. "Just don't go too far and make sure you're back by 6 'o clock or coins will be penalized."

"Alright!" cheered Mario, ready to visit around.

_Mario: I normally wouldn't be-a interested in exploring Toad Town, but I-a actually just got back from an adventure, so it'll be good to see the town again._

So, the group split up into different groups to see different things. Mario, Daisy, Mallow and Timpani mainly visited with Peach and Luigi (because Mario's house was close due to pipe transportation). Jolene, Mona, Shy Guy and Monty checked out the various shops and the souvenirs they had to offer (though, some of them were looking for clothes to last them until they got their bags back… If they ever got them back). Lastly, Toadiko and Wolley, the two who rarely left town, discussed strategy on the castle lawn.

"So, any guesses?" asked Toadiko.

"None that I'm completely confident in, but a few," replied Wolley, "Shy Guy, Mario and Monty, but anyone could be the Mole."

"I mainly suspect Monty and Shy Guy," said Toadiko. Both toads paused for a moment. "Hey," said Toadiko, "You wanna work together? Like a coalition?"

Wolley gave a slightly worried face, "I don't think that would be a good idea this early," he said. Toadiko frowned. "If we're both still here later in the game and I can trust you, then I would say yes, but now, nobody can be trusted," explained Wolley.

Toadiko nodded.

Soon, 6:00 P.M. arrived and everyone was back at the castle for dinner. The rest of the night was uneventful and the contestants all went to bed around 10:00 or 10:30 and drifted off with worried and excited thoughts about the days to come, even the Mole was nervous, but also anticipating a day of sabotage.

However, all was not well in the castle. Around midnight, in Princess Peach's room, there was a knock at the door. The Princess groggily opened the door, only to have two burly Koopas grab her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, freaked out.

Anderson approached from the staircase with a blindfold. "Don't worry princess, you will be alright, just put this on and I'll explain on the way to our destination. Peach nodded, worriedly before being taken away from her castle.

. . .

**A.N.: Yup, starting with a cliffhanger! What will happen to Peach? Will this mean another challenge? Find out in the next part! Remember to Read and Review, as well as state your guesses on the identity of the mole!**


	3. In Another Castle

**A/N: This took way to long to get out. In fact, up until yesterday, I had only written about 500 words, but I finally got an inspiration boost and wrote the other 3,200 or so words last night and this morning...sorry, I hope it won't take this long to get part 4 up.**

* * *

_Episode1 Part 3_

As the second day of The Mole started, the ten groggy players walked down to the dining hall, it could be that four of them were wearing the one outfit they had left out from their bags (though it was noticeable that nobody wanted to point it out). They all sat down at the table, complaining about their required get up time of 6:00 a.m.

_Mario: I've had to get up at-a 6:30 for months before this! I __**was-a **__looking forward to-a sleeping in, but nooo! Anderson better-a have a good excuse for this!_

However, the host was nowhere to be seen, instead, there was a TV on the table as well as a remote with a note on it.

"_Press 'on' when all players are seated!"_

"Everyone here?" asked Monty who was closest to the remote; he looked around, confirming that everyone was in fact there and pressed 'on' on the remote. Anderson appeared on screen and everyone fell quiet and looked towards the TV.

"Good morning players!" greeted their host, "Well, that's a lie; this morning is not a good one for Toad Town." Many players gave confused looks. "Well, a not-so unfamiliar emergency has come to the kingdom: Princess Peach has been kidnapped!"

"What!" shouted Mario, standing up, knocking his chair over in the process.

_Mario: Good excuse noted!_

"Calm down Mario! We need to pay attention to this!" urged Mallow, tugging on Mario's sleeve. Mario just sighed, picked his chair up and sitting down.

Surprisingly, nothing had happened during Mario's outburst. When everyone looked back, Anderson was quiet and stayed so for a few more seconds. Finally he continued his pre-recorded monologue, "Now that you all have calmed down, I can explain more!" he said slyly. People were now more confused than ever. "Peach's kidnapping wasn't unplanned. She was taken by us and it's your job to get her back!" There were some gasps, "hm"s and an "Oh come on!" Anderson kept on talking, "She's being held at a location only known by me. You need to locate me at Toad Town harbor as fast as possible, so get going now!"

The screen went black and Mario was the first one out of his seat and the others quickly followed. The contestants burst out the front gates of the castle out into the garden. It was still dark out, but that didn't stop them, Mario led the way and everyone else was able to follow closely behind.

Suddenly, everyone came to a stop, "What are you doing? Let's go!" asked Wolley.

"I-I don't remember the way," stuttered Mario.

"But, don't you live here **Mole**!"accused Monty.

"I've been out on adventure!" defended Mario.

"Which way do you think?" asked Timpani. Mario pointed unsurely.

"I don't know…" started Wolley.

"I think he's right!" said Mallow.

"Then it's decided!" announced Jolene.

They walked down the street for a minute or two until Mario froze. "What's the hold up?" asked Wolley.

"This isn't the right way," uttered the plumber.

"You're kidding!" shouted Mona, agitated.

_Monty: I can't believe that Mario's being so incompetent!_

"Calm down! We can still get to the harbor from here, but it'll take a few more minutes!" insisted Toadiko.

"Let's go then!" shouted Daisy taking off. Mario, snapping out of his panic, dashed after her. Wolley was next, followed by the rest of the contestants.

They tore through neighborhood after neighborhood, waking up a few light sleepers (one of which was a certain grumpy toad from before). They soon started to smell salt and a few minutes afterwards, heard the sound of the waves. They came out of the clustered housing district to a much wider area filled with many freight containers and dotted about with workers who had unwillingly gone there for their jobs. However, instead of dashing on, they all stopped as fast as possible to avoid tripping over Daisy who had slipped and fallen on the wet pavement.

"Ow!" exclaimed the Princess before getting back up, "So where do you think Anderson is?"

"Well, he's probably planning to take us on a boat," reasoned Timpani.

"So he should be-a by the private boat docks!" said Mario.

"That way!" pointed Wolley and they carefully set off again to the right. For a few minutes, they didn't see their host, but finally they came to him on a tiny, cleared plaza. Tied to a dock was a medium sized speedboat and sitting on the plaza was a helicopter and a 4-door sports car.

"Welcome to your next challenge!" greeted Anderson.

"Alright, where's the princess?" demanded Jolene.

"Not here," Anderson said simply, scratching at his new, green beanie, "You need to find her before sunrise at 8:00 A.M, right now it's 6:45."

"That's not too bad," said Shy Guy.

"Well, you'll need all the time you can get," said Anderson, "This mission is called 'Super Mole Bros.'" he added, "Now, I need three people who work well in the air, three people who don't get seasick, three people who can deal with cramped spaces and one person who would like to get there fast, no matter the risk."

After a moment of discussion, the groups were chosen, Wolley, Mallow and Mona were the air group, Daisy, Wolley and Jolene were the sea group, Timpani, Shy Guy and Toadiko were the cramped group and Mario would be going fast.

Each group (except for Mario) was led to their vehicles and Anderson told them each how they would get there.

"Air group, you'll be riding in the helicopter. To find your way, go south…" he then gave them a description of the place they'd find.

"Sea group, you'll take this speedboat. You have a GPS to lead you to your location."

"Cramped group, you'll be taking the sports car. Your driver will take you to your location; he will not be able to give you any other help."

Once all the groups had started to leave, Anderson led Mario away to a rough, dirt road where a shiny, green motorbike sat. "Follow this road to your destination and talk to a Paragloomba wearing a red, pointed hat; he'll give you further instruction. Mario nodded, hopped on the bike and tore off down the dirt road.

He went down the road into a forest, which was very bumpy, causing the plumber to go (at the highest) six feet in the air, but he didn't care, it was an adrenaline rush and it was getting him to the princess faster. He soon cleared out of the forest and saw a bridge leading up to an island with an old fortress on it. He rocketed across the bridge and soon pulled to a stop in front of the fortress where, as Anderson had said, a Paragloomba wearing a pointy, red cap.

"You with Anderson?" asked the Paragloomba.

"Yeah, I-a gotta save the princess," explained Mario.

"Of course," said the Paragloomba, "this challenge is worth 22,000 coins and don't think just because you got here quickly that you're getin' off easy. You're just as important as all the other teams _combined_, so don't relax just yet." Mario sighed, but the Paragloomba continued, "You need to journey into the fortress and get to the room on the top floor where the princess is held, however, on the way you need to obtain a small metal ball with number lock on it. Getting it may not be as easy as you think.

Mario nodded and walked into the fortress.

**{Air Team}**

Mallow focused solely on controlling the helicopter in the pre-dawn darkness while Wolley and Mona just sat there, glancing around for anything to help them. Wolley had no luck, but Mona found something near the camera man's feet.

"What's this?" she asked to herself picking up a beat up shoebox. Upon opening it, she found a knife and a walkie-talkie. "Hey Wolley, check this out!" she said, holding up the walkie-talkie."

"Sweet," said Wolley, "I bet we can talk to the others with this."

"What do you think the knife is for?" questioned Mona.

"I have no idea, I guess we should talk to the others," suggested Wolley.

"I got it!" said Mona, turning on the walkie-talkie, "Hello? Can anybody hear me?"

**{Cramped Team}**

The entire team immediately jumped when they heard Mona's voice, "Mona? Is that you?" asked Toadiko.

"I repeat, can anybody hear me?" Mona's voice rang out, obviously not hearing Toadiko.

"It sounds like it's coming from the front seat, on the celling," observed Shy Guy.

Timpani (who was in the passenger seat) looked up to see that the fold up mirror (I forgot what those things are called, but the things that you fold down from the celling that have mirrors on them) was partially opened, when she fully opened it, a walkie-talkie and a slip of paper fell out.

"Mona! This is Timpani! We found our walkie-talkie along with a piece of paper with the numbers 0-5 on it!"

"Timpani?" asked Mona, "Sweet! That's totally awesome! We found a walkie-talkie and a knife!"

**{Meanwhile-Sea Team}**

Only Monty had heard Mona's voice, "Hey! Did anybody else hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Daisy.

"I swear I heard Mona say something!" said Monty.

"Mona's not here!" snapped Daisy.

_Daisy: Monty's being pretty suspicious, I mean he seriously suggested that he heard somebody who is thousands of feet above us say something! That's just weird!_

Jolene (who was driving) spoke up, "Why don't you go over to where he's standing?" she reasoned.

Daisy rolled her eyes and walked over to Monty, "Whatev- Huh! I hear her too!" she exclaimed.

"Told ya'," snickered Monty.

_Monty: I think Daisy could be the Mole, she denied something that obviously could be important_

"Oh shut up!"

"Make m- Wait! I hear Timpani too! We need to find a walkie-talkie!" shouted Monty. Monty and Daisy dove to the ground, searching for anything that could be useful. Finally, Daisy found a bag under a seat near the back of the boat.

"I found something!" she called, pulling out a walkie-talkie and a key that clearly went with the boat. She tossed the key to Monty and spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Hey guys! It's me Daisy! We found a walkie-talkie and a key for somewhere on our boat!"

"Awesome!" was Mona's reply.

"Let us know if you find anything else," said Timpani.

"No prob!"

Meanwhile, Monty had made his way up to the front of the boat and tried the key on the lock on a glove compartment. The key broke in the lock, but the compartment opened and inside was a small slip of paper. "I found a piece of paper!" he shouted.

"What's it say?" called back Daisy.

"The numbers 7-3!"

"We found a slip of paper with the numbers 7-3 on it!" relayed Daisy to the other groups.

"Great!" exclaimed Timpani, "Now we know that we all should have one! Mona, try to find a slip of paper in the helicopter!"

"Got it! I'll call back when I find it!"

**{Air Team}**

Mona put the walkie-talkie down and looked over at Wolley, "We need to find a slip of paper with two numbers on it before we get to the fortress."

"I bet we'll need the knife to find it," suggested Wolley.

Mona held up the knife to inspect it, "Yeah, great idea! I hadn't thought of that!"

So they started to look around the helicopter, Mona ruled out the walls and floor for obvious reasons and Wolley ruled out anywhere that Mallow needed to fly the chopper. So their best bet was the seats. The empty seat next to Mallow didn't have anything suggesting they should check, neither did Mona's seat, or Wolley's seat, or even the camera man's seat. Finally when they were about to give up, Wolley looked straight ahead into the back of Mallow's seat where a piece of duck-tape was stuck. She pointed to it and Mona nodded and carefully cut into the seat and sure enough, she found a slip of paper.

"Timpani, Daisy! I found a slip of paper! It has the numbers 6-4 on it!"

"I think we're good to go!" said Daisy.

"You can't be too sure, but I agree for now," agreed Timpani.

**{Meanwhile-Mario}**

Mario ran into the fortress, but had to stop because it was so dark, the only light coming from the moonlight outside and a faint light coming from a hallway to the right. Mario headed down towards the light and discovered a torch on the wall and took it so he could see and he headed onwards. The fortress mainly went in a spiral pathway, occasionally having a short staircase that would go up.

_Mario: The hallway seemed to-a go on forever, I started to worry that I'd-a never get out __**or **__find the metal ball I-a needed._

Soon however, he came upon a room with electrical lighting. It was stone like the rest, but had a pool of water separating the two halves of the room with a bridge across as well as a door to get out from the side of the building.

Suddenly, Mario gasped, standing across the bridge holding the very metal ball he needed was the last guy he expected to see then: Bowser.

"Bowser! What are you-a doing here?" questioned the plumber in a very angry tone.

"Bwahaha! I didn't expect to see **you** here Mario! I've been sent here by The Mole to make sure you never get **this**!" cackled Mario's arch nemesis. He then gave one last laugh and tossed the ball into the water to sink, before hurrying out of the room.

Luckily for Mario, there was lighting under the water too, so he could see the ball as it sank, unfortunately though, it was heading right into a pipe! He dove into the water to stop it from falling in, but gravity won out and it sank into the pipe where Mario couldn't get it… or could he? He noticed that the pipe curved away from the fortress and outside, so the plumber quickly resurfaced and ran out the door and down the stairs outside to discover that the pipe filtered out into a creek.

Desperately searching the water for it, he finally found the metal ball, stuck on a rock; he pocketed it and went back into the fortress. Across the bridge, he entered another room (that was also lit) that strangely only contained a large mallet, Mario approached it slowly and picked it up. "Welcome back," he muttered and walked into the next room which had a locked door and… Bowser again!

"Huh? You're here? That must mean you got the ball!" growled the Koopa King, Mario nodded, "I guess I'll have to deal with you myself!" He suddenly went into his shell and started spinning towards Mario! However the plumber (who happened to be familiar with fighting Bowser) smacked him back with the hammer, breaking down the door and knocking out Bowser.

Mario entered the last room (which wasn't lit, but let enough moonlight in to have good visibility. Sitting in the very center was a cage and inside was Princess Peach.

"Mario! You came!" cheered the Princess, she then noticed he was alone, "Where are the others?" she asked.

"I-a came separately, they should be here soon." He then looked out at the sky, which showed that the sun was going to rise soon, "They need to be."

**{Air Team}**

Mallow saw the island and the fortress come into view, then checked the clock: 7:30. "We're almost there and in good time!" he cheered, the others jumped, having not heard him say anything for the entire ride.

"Great!" said Wolley, finally.

"Our team is arriving!" Mona announced to the others.

Soon they landed on an outside helipad next to the top room and ran in to greet Mario.

"Mario! Mario!" shouted Mona as she ran in, Mario perked up.

"Mona! You made it, but where-a are the others?"

"We're here, but the others are still on the way," announced Mallow as he and Wolley walked in.

"Thank goodness!" cheered Peach.

"Do you have any way to get her out?" asked Mona.

"Not quite, but I have this," said Mario, pulling out the metal ball and inspected it, "It has a six number lock on it," he noted, "Hm, what's-a this? Above the-a first two numbers there is a picture of a car, above the second a picture of a chopper and above the last two, there's a picture of a boat. What-a could that mean?"

Mona's eyes lit up, "I got it! Each team found a slip of paper with two numbers on it! Quickly, enter 6-4 for the middle two!"

"I-a got it!"

**{Meanwhile-Sea Team}**

About the time Mario pulled out the metal ball, the Sea Team pulled up at the mouth of the creek. Monty and Daisy threw out the anchor and the trio started along the creek side until they saw the steps that led to the room with the bridge. They raced through the other rooms (awkwardly passing the unconscious Bowser) until they met up with Mario and the Air Team. The situation was explained and the Sea Team grew anxious with the end of the challenge so close.

"Our numbers are 7-3," announce Jolene.

"All righty!" said Mario, putting the combination in.

"It's 7:45! They better hurry!" said Monty, worried.

**{Cramped Team}**

The final team had only arrived minutes ago at the area where Mario had parked his bike and they were now racing through the fortress desperately trying to get there on time.

_Toadiko: We were all sure that we were the last team to arrive, so there is a lot of pressure on our shoulders!_

_Shy Guy: Oh Boy, another race against time._

At 7:57 they had reached the room with the bridge, the dashed past the empty room and past the room where Bowser had been (the crew had taken him out of there) and into the final room where everyone just shouted for their numbers.

"Our *huff* numbers are 0-5!" breathed Timpani. Mario entered the numbers and the metal ball unhinged, revealing a key inside.

"Quickly Mario, you only have a minute left!" exclaimed Peach. Mario fumbled with the key and…

"I-a got it!" he shouted and the Princess exited the cage, a mere five seconds before 8:00!

"Yahoo! We did it!" cheered Mona.

"We prevailed!" yelled Monty.

"Yeah, Winning!" shouted Wolley. Several people groaned at the Charlie Sheen reference while a couple others fist pumped.

"That. Was. Tough," exclaimed Shy Guy.

"You can say that again," agreed Daisy.

"Congratulations!" said Peach.

"How much did we win?" asked Jolene.

"Anderson never said," pointed out Mallow.

"I-a met a Paragloomba who-a helped me out," said Mario, "He said it was-a worth 22,000 coins!"

"And indeed it was!" said Anderson, arriving in the room, "I assume my crew treated you well?" he added to Peach.

"Yes, I was perfectly fine, other than being trapped in the cage," said Peach.

"Great! So everything worked out perfectly **and **you earned 22,000 coins!" announced Anderson, the entire group cheered.

**Team Pot**

**32,000 Coins**

**22,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 54,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 62,000 Coins**

"Are you **sure** this game won't be a piece of cake?" asked Monty.

"Maybe the Mole is just doing a bad job," said Daisy.

"Maybe they are, maybe they're waiting for the right moment to strike," said Anderson mysteriously. "In fact, they will be striking tonight, because tonight's the night of the first execution!" Everyone gulped.

"Well, let's head back to the castle, I'm sure you all want some breakfast!" said Anderson. Everyone froze and about half of them immediately grabbed their stomachs.

"Food. Now. Please," moaned Wolley.

Anderson chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes." He led the contestants out of the fortress and back to where Mario's bike and the sports car were parked, but now there were a couple of limos parked there to take them back.

_Shy Guy: I don't think anybody was thinking about food during the challenge, which means the game really is intense, so we may be underestimating it. It'll be sweet relief to rest though._

In one of the limos, Mona was writing even more down in her journal (which she seemed to have taken with her) and Daisy seemed annoyed. "You're still insisting on writing in that so much?"

"Of course! There was actually some pretty suspicious behavior that I saw during the challenge!" defended Mona. "I bet some people at least seemed a little bit odd to you."

"The mole," muttered Daisy, glancing over at Monty who was chatting with Mario and Wolley.

"Huh?"

"Monty"

"Why him?"

"He just bugs me," said Daisy, "He jokes about being the Mole, but he could be serious and we would never guess."

"I guess I can see that."

"And another thing, I saw his clue in the Bag Shooters challenge, it was so obvious where my outfit was, but he took forever to figure it out, it was almost like he was stalling!" exclaimed Daisy quietly.

"Wow, anything else."

"Well, his outfit was a shirt that was for some band called 'Monty and the Moles' and that sounds pretty suspicious," said Daisy.

"Well, we need to remember that he **is **a Monty Mole," said Mona.

"Yeah, we'll just have to see."

**{Back at the Castle}**

Back at the castle, everyone enjoyed a wonderful breakfast made by the Toad chefs and Peach herself. After the meal, Anderson stood up and spoke to the group, "Well, now that we're done, feel free to go back to bed or do whatever you want, just be here at 1:00 P.M. for lunch and make sure you're no more than ten minutes late or money will be penaltized!"


	4. Plummeting to the First Execution

_Episode 1 Final Part (4)_

All of the contestants had gone back to bed after breakfast except Wolley, Monty, Mona and Daisy who lived off of caffeine and thus were able to be perfectly awake after a coffee or four even after an early awakening. So, the group decided to explore the front lawn of the castle a bit more (Daisy and Mona keeping an eye on Monty).

It turned out that Peach had a very vibrant flower bed (in which Wolley had recalled the backbreaking process of planting them.

_Mona: I was surprised at how many flowers Peach had! And most of them weren't just plain ol' flowers, there were a bunch of power-up flowers too!_

There were Fire Flowers, Ice Flowers, Cloud Flowers (which Wolley said was a new addition), Roses and Daisy (which Daisy grinned at when she saw them).

Wolley and Daisy snuck over towards a pathway where some of the crew vans were parked. Daisy started to open the door to one of them when one of the camera men shouted, "Hey! Get away from there!" he shouted and the sneaky duo sprinted away, giggling madly. As they ran away and the camera started to follow them, the camera man noticed Mona and Monty sneaky up from the other side, "Seriously! Get out of here!" he shouted and the sneakier duo ran away as well.

A few hours later after a few more failed attempts at getting information from the vans and a bit of journal writing, it was time for lunch and luckily, everybody was there on time.

"Welcome contestants!" greeted Anderson as they sat down, "Are you all ready for your first execution?" Everyone gasped.

"Already?" cried Mallow.

"Haha! Of course not! It's tonight, but I still wanted to know if you were ready." Everyone gave a sigh of relief. "Let's enjoy lunch now! But I must warn you, there's a mini-challenge coming up afterwards!"

Mario rubbed his mustache, "Interesting, what's-a it going to be?"

"You'll find out after lunch, but please, take your time and enjoy your meal."

With that, lunch was served. "You lucky dogs," muttered one of the serving Toads to Wolley and Toadiko (who were sitting next to each other).

"So…what do you think of the game so far?" Timpani asked Wolley.

Wolley shrugged, "It seems pretty easy, but it felt much harder during the challenges themselves, I'm probably underestimating it, but that's just me."

Timpani seemed a little bit taken aback by his blunt answer and blunt tone, "Oh...okay."

Wolley paused, "Oh! You?"

"Huh?"

"What do **you** think?" he asked a bit impatiently.

"Well, it's been kind of hard and I think it's only going to get harder from here, but the one thing I can say for sure is that I'm **not **looking forward to the execution tonight!"

"Amen!" agreed Wolley, drinking his Root Beer like one would drink a regular beer.

"Okay," said Timpani awkwardly, turning to her other side to talk to Mallow, but he was talking to Mario.

"So you say the Mole probably has tried something only once?" he asked, Mario nodded. The Nimbian turned to Timpani, "Hey Timpani, do you think the Mole has tried any sabotage so far?"

"I'm almost positive they have," replied Timpani, "I'd say they did something during the Bag Shooter challenge, there were a lot of screw ups in that challenge."

"One of those was yours," pointed out Mallow.

"One was yours too," retorted Timpani.

"I know," moaned Mallow, looking down sadly.

"Let's just-a calm down guys," said Mario.

"Sorry Mallow, I didn't mean to upset you," apologized Timpani, giving the boy a pat on the back.

"It's fine, I'm just kinda sensitive."

Meanwhile, Daisy was trying to get some information out of Anderson, "So, I'm just gonna be blunt here," said Daisy, "Who is the Mole?"

"You really think I'd tell you?" asked Anderson.

"Not really," admitted Daisy.

"Actually, I wouldn't be able to tell you if I wanted to, I have no idea who the Mole is!"

"Really!"

"Really," confirmed Anderson.

"Why didn't the producers tell you?" asked Daisy

"I'm sure if I knew, I'd unintentionally hint to them or give them too much or not enough attention, therefore giving them away," explained the host, "so it's for the best."

"I never would have guessed that the **host** wouldn't even know who the mole was!" exclaimed Daisy.

"Of course I'll know before the rest of you… except for the mole of course." Suddenly, Anderson got a tap on his shoulder and a crew member whispered something in his ear, "Yes, of course! I'm sorry Ms. Sarasa, but I must get going," he said before getting up and heading out to do whatever it was he was needed for.

Daisy turned to Mona, "Did you hear that?"

"No, what?"

"Anderson has no idea who the Mole is!"

"You're kidding!" gasped Mona.

Daisy shook her head, "Nope."

"Wow," said Mona, "Do you think he has any guesses?"

"Not really."

"Do you have any more on Monty?" asked Mona.

"One thing, but it's kinda shaky," admitted Daisy.

"Lay it on me," whispered Mona.

"Well, ya' know how this season is called 'Fiend's Burrow'?" asked Daisy.

"Yeah."

"Well, it may be referring to _The_ Mole or just _a _Mole," said Daisy.

"Well, that _is_ kinda shaky," noted Mona.

"Well, what do **you **think?"

"I have a few other suspects," said Mona, Daisy perked up. "Mario seems somewhat suspect."

"Really?"

"Well, thing about it, he seems to act all perfect, but he's been suspicious, he was the last person to go on the first mission, even though he seemed like he wanted to go, he probably didn't do anything in the second one, though he may have requested to have his outfit placed in the pipe farther away, to confuse whoever got it and he wasted time in the beginning of Super Mole Bros." explained Mona.

"Wow, that's much more solid evidence than things on Monty!" agreed Daisy.

"However, you should try to keep an open mind."

"Yeah, anybody could be the Mole, _Mona_,"

"What!"

Meanwhile, Jolene and Monty were discussing fighting tournaments while Shy Guy and Toadiko where having a brief discussion. "So, what do you think about the upcoming execution?" asked Toadiko.

"I'm scared, I really don't want to see anybody go," muttered Shy Guy.

"So we take a quiz on the Mole's identity and the lowest scorer has to leave, right?" asked Toadiko.

"I think so," Shy Guy said simply.

"Who do you think will go?" wondered Toadiko, looking worried.

"I don't know, nor do I want to think about it."

After lunch, everyone cleaned up and wrote in their journals until they were called down to the castle garden at 4:30.

**{Castle Garden}**

"Welcome to your first mini-challenge!" greeted Anderson as all ten contestants arrived. The garden had been drastically changed, the pipes were all gone and in the center was a 25 ft. wide backyard pool (the above ground kind) with a three story scaffolding-like structure coming out of it. "For this challenge, we're playing a game I like to call 'Tops and Trapdoors'."

"Okaaay," said Wolley, kind of weirded out by the odd name.

"There's more Mr. Ohtoad," continued Anderson, "You'll be playing in a single elimination tournament consisting solely of dice rolling, the winner goes closer to the top and the loser falls out of a trapdoor. However, before the results come about, you can request a rematch, for the cost of 1,000 coins out of the team pot."

A few people gulped and Daisy raised her had for an unrelated reason.

"Yes?"

"How are we gonna have a single elimination tournament if we have ten people?" asked Daisy.

"Good question, two people will stay out of the game until there are two people left. They will be selected by a random name draw from **this** hat!" The people who had lost their bags flinched when they saw the hat from the bag shooters game pulled out.

"Wait!" Mario called before Anderson started drawing names.

"What is it?" asked the host.

"What is-a the prize for winning?"

Anderson chuckled, "There was way too much drama building up to that," he commented, "The winner gets a _secret _prize."

_Wolley: Secret? Like an exemption?  
Monty: Who knows what risk to the pot could be taken by playing this game?_

"**Now** it's time to choose the people who will be safe for a couple of rounds!" he reached into the hat, "Let's see… Jolene and Shy Guy!"

"Sweet!" cheered Jolene.

"Alright," said Shy Guy.

So, it was set up, on the bottom section, Wolley would be facing Mona, Mario would be facing Monty, Daisy would be facing Mallow, and Toadiko would be facing Timpani.

First up, Wolley and Mona were on the far right of the bottom level, each standing on a trapdoor and a latter was between them. Wolley was staring intensely at Mona, a determined stare like he could scare her out of winning. "3…2…1…Roll!" announced Anderson and each player dropped their die onto the platform and… Mona got a five, Wolley got a three.

"Darn it!" shouted Wolley, "I want a rematch!"

"Even at the cost of 1,000 coins?" asked Anderson.

"This may keep me in another round, it could be worth more than 1,000 coins, **I want a rematch**!"

"Okay, pick up your dice," instructed Anderson, the players obeyed, "3…2…1…Roll!" they rolled their dice again. Mona got a four, Wolley got a six.

"Yes! I did it!" he cheered, he then looked up at Mona's sad face, "I'm sorry Mona, but this could be very valuable to me, I do what I have to do."

Mona nodded, "I underst-AHHHHH!" she shouted as the trapdoor came out from under her and she fell into the pool.

"Alright Wolley, you won, climb up the latter," said Anderson and Wolley, triumphantly, but with some regret, the Toad climbed up to the next level which was higher and a little bit behind the bottom level.

Next up, Mario and Monty went head to head on the middle-right area where (like the first two) were on trapdoors with a latter between them. Anderson started the countdown "3…2…1…Roll!" each contestant rolled their dice. Mario got a two, Monty got a three.

"Bye-bye!" said Mario, waving before he was dropped off the platform.

"Well, you have good luck, Monty! Head on up!" congratulated Anderson.

"Thanks Anderson!" said Monty before climbing up to meet Wolley.

The third group, on the middle-left side was Daisy and Mallow, they were standing at the same set up as the other two. "Ready?" asked Anderson.

"Yeah!" cheered Daisy.

"Yup!" said Mallow.

"3…2…1…Roll!" they dropped their dice. Daisy got a two, but Mallow got a one.

"Darn it!" cried Mallow. He looked down and screamed as he fell.

Now, the last group faced each other, Toadiko and Timpani both didn't really care who won and wished each other luck.

"3…2…1…Roll!" Toadiko simply dropped her die while Timpani gave it a good roll on the platform. Toadiko received a four and Timpani got a…four. "Reroll!" announced Anderson. They rolled again and this time Toadiko once again got a four, but Timpani got a five.

"I'm sorry," said Timpani.

"It's fIIIIIINE!" screamed Toadiko as she plummeted. She created a small splash as she landed, she swam over to the edge and hopped out. One of the crew members handed her a towel as she joined the other six.

"Hey Toadiko," said Mona in an unusually mellow tone.

"Hi."

There was an awkward silence until Mario spoke up, "What-a do you think the prize is?"

"It sounds like an exemption, but you can't be sure," put in Mallow.

Mona turned towards Shy Guy and Jolene, "You guys are lucky to join at the end."

Jolene grinned, "I guess so,"

"I'm a bit worried at how Anderson said '_secret_ prize'," commented Shy Guy.

Back at the tower, Wolley and Monty were facing off. "3…2…1…Roll!" shouted Anderson and the duo rolled their dice. Wolley got a six, Monty got a one.

"That's just insulting!" said Monty, "Ya' know what? You used money for a rematch, I'm going to do that too!"

"Are you sure?" asked Anderson.

Monty nodded, "I'm sure."

"Ready gentlemen? 3…2…1…Roll!" shouted Anderson and they rolled again. Wolley got a four and Monty got a six.

"Meh, I'm not gonna use more money… goodbye," reasoned Wolley before plummeting.

Now, Daisy and Timpani were up, Daisy was a little more competitive than Timpani, so her stance was one of at least slight seriousness.

_Daisy: This prize could be an exemption or a +1, which I could use, however if it's something negative for the team, then I would like to do the best I can to use it for good._

"Alright, let's do this!" shouted Daisy.

"Okay! 3…2…1…Roll!" shouted Anderson and they rolled. Timpani got a four, but so did Daisy.

"Nice try Timpani!" said Daisy, Timpani just giggled.

They each picked up their dice. "Alright, let's go again!" said Anderson. "3…2…1…Roll!" shouted the host. They rolled and this time Daisy won out with a three to Timpani's one.

"Oh no," moaned Timpani before plummeting two stories into the pool.

"So, we're down to two competitors," commented Anderson, "Daisy, move over to face Monty and come up here you two!" he said, shouting to Shy Guy and Jolene at the end. The lucky duo climbed in the pool and headed up to the second floor of the tower. "Since you two have sat out the whole time, you get to go first!"

"Got it," said Jolene. Shy Guy just nodded.

"Ready? 3…2…1…Roll!" shouted Anderson and they rolled. Jolene got a one, Shy Guy got a five.

Jolene sighed, "For the sake of self-preservation, I'm requesting a rematch."

"Even though you joined at this point?" asked Anderson.

"I'd rather not become the Mole's first victim."

"Okay, I see your reasoning, pick up your dice," said Anderson, "3…2…1…Roll!" Jolene got a four, Shy Guy got a six.

"Dang it!" cried Jolene before plummeting.

"I-I won!" said Shy Guy.

"Climb up to the third floor!"

"O-okay."

Anderson walked over to Daisy and Monty, "Let's go! 3…2…1…Roll!" and they rolled, Daisy with a five, Monty with a four.

"Arg!" shouted Monty, falling to the same fate as the others.

"Oh yeah!" cheered Daisy. She climbed up to the third story to face Shy Guy in the final round of Tops and Trapdoors.

"Now, the winner of this round gets our _secret_ prize!" announced Anderson. "Are you ready?"

"I guess," shrugged Shy Guy.

"Totally!" shouted Daisy.

"3! 2! 1! Roll!" They each rolled, Daisy got a three, but Shy Guy got a two.

"Uh oh! YAAAAAA!" screamed Shy Guy as he went through the three story drop.

"Now," started Anderson as he turned to Daisy, "time for your prize!" He reached into his pocket, "Give this to _anybody_ you want," he said handing a red card to Daisy.

The princess gasped, "A -1! Nobody deserves this!" She started to panic, not sure who she could give it to herself.

_Daisy: I was freaking out; I didn't want to doom anybody's chances of continuing the game. I even considered giving it to myself __**until**__ I went through Anderson's words in my head._

"Well," Daisy started to reason, "I think if anybody would have an easy time dealing with a -1, it would be… **you** Anderson!" she said, handing the card back to the host.

Anderson grinned, "Well played Ms. Sarasa! You've saved everyone from a cruel disadvantage, however because of the greed of others, 3,000 coins will be subtracted from the team pot!" Everyone groaned and the three who used the money put on guilty faces.

**Team Pot**

**54,000 Coins**

**3,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 51,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 62,000 Coins**

For a couple of hours after the challenge, everyone (wanting to avoid thinking about the game for a little while) talked about their lives, their jobs, what they had been doing recently (Mario had lots of interesting stories from his most recent adventure) and it was a good distraction, but come dinner time spirits started to plummet.

"I must warn you contestants, our first execution is after dinner!" announced Anderson.

After that announcement, dinner mostly consisted of nervous silence, but a little bit of small talk. At 8:30, dinner was over and for the third time, they all went out onto into the castle grounds (which now had a purple hue in the sunset's light), the entire tower from Tops and Trapdoors was gone and the pool was replaced by a stage that had ten chairs, a table with a laptop and a large TV with a green thumbprint on it that Anderson was standing ominously in front of (and ominous music had been added in post-production).

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to your first execution. You will each go out into the hallway and take a quiz on the identity of the Mole. The lowest scorer must leave immediately. Of course, the Mole will be able to answer all the questions correctly, so they will have no problem. The rest of you on the other hand, I wish you luck," said Anderson.

The first execution quiz had begun.

**1: What is the Mole's Job?**

**-Plumber/Adventurer **

**-Royal Assistant **

**-Politician/Pro. Tennis Player **

**-Game Designer/ Cook**

**-Psychologist**

**-Weatherman/Politician **

**-Actor**

**-Scholar **

**-Boxing Ref. and Manager**

**-Miner**

_Jolene: I'm nervous for this quiz, I don't really have a guess on who the mole is._

**2: Which Limo did the Mole show up in?**

**-First**

**-Second**

**-Third**

**-Fourth**

_Monty: The second question was unfair to me, since I was in the last limo._

**3: Did the Mole successfully retrieve a bag in the Bag Shooter's mission?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**-The Mole was shooting the bags**

_Shy Guy: I'm glad I got an exemption on this mission, this might be pretty hard otherwise._

**4: What team was the Mole on in the Super Mole Bros. mission?**

**-The Air Team**

**-The Sea Team**

**-The Cramped Team**

**-The Mole traveled alone**

_Wolley: The Mole is a sneaky one, I'm gonna need some good luck for this one._

**5: Did the Mole opt for a rematch in the Tops and Trapdoors mini-mission?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

_Timpani: I just hope I'm not the first victim._

**6: How far did the Mole make it in the Tops and Trapdoors min-mission?**

**-The first floor**

**-The second floor**

**-The second round of the second floor**

**-The third floor**

**7: Is the Mole male or female?**

**-Male**

**-Female**

**8: What species is the Mole?**

**-Human**

**-Toad**

**-Nimbian**

**-Shy Guy**

**-Monty**

**9: What Month was the Mole born in?**

**-January**

**-March**

**-April**

**-May**

**-June**

**-July**

**-August **

**-September**

_Monty: I have to know: Who. Is. The. Mole?_

**-December**

**10: Who is the Mole?**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

**-Daisy Sarasa**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

**-Jolene Mush**

**-Monty Mole**

"I will enter your names into the computer, one at a time, if a green thumbprint shows up, you are safe, if the thumbprint is red, you are the Mole's first victim," explained Anderson. "Shy Guy, since you have an exemption, we will put your name in first." Shy Guy handed him the exemption card and Anderson entered his name in.

S

H

Y

G

U

Y

.

.

.

Exempted

"Timpani"

T

I

M

P

A

N

I

.

.

.

Green

Timpani breathed a sigh of relief, the others were happy for her, but nervous for themselves.

"Mallow," the host announced and fear shone in the eyes of the prince, but he said nothing.

M

A

L

L

O

W

.

.

.

.

Green

"Thank goodness," he sighed under his breath. Mario patted him on the back.

"Daisy," said Anderson, typing her name into the computer, Daisy's face was one of much worry.

D

A

I

S

Y

.

.

.

.

.

Green

Daisy sighed loudly, smiling, but immediately putting a serious face back on when she realized the others were still at risk.

"Jolene."

J

O

L

E

N

E

.

.

.

.

Red

"No!" gasped the Toad.

"Sorry Jolene, you are the Mole's first victim," said Anderson sadly. Everyone looked on with genuine looks of sadness (even the Mole was sad).

The mole's first victim looked up on the group and gave a soft smile, "I didn't want to be the first to go, but somebody had to be. I hope you're happy mole," she said bitterly.

"Time to go Jolene," said Anderson and the Boxing Ref. was escorted to a black van with a red thumbprint on it to head home.

"Why!" cried Mallow.

"She was a good player," mourned Mario.

"She played honorably," added Toadiko.

"It's sad to see a good Toad leave," finished Wolley.

"She was just the Mole's first victim, we have to discover him or her or we more of us will leave," Monty said wisely.

. . .

Outside the castle, Anderson was having one last talk with Jolene. "It's been a great experience, even if I've only been here for two days," said Jolene.

"It was great to have you here, but a shame that you had to go," said Anderson, "What was your favorite part of it?"

"I really loved the mission where we rescued the Princess," recalled Jolene, "It felt like an adventure different than anything I've done before!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! What do you regret not being able to do in your limited time?" asked the host.

"I really wish I could of gotten a better clue as to who the Mole is," admitted Jolene, "I honestly had no idea who it was."

"That shows how valuable knowledge is in this game," said Anderson. Jolene nodded in agreement. "Well, you've been a great player," said Anderson, shaking Jolene's hand.

**{Castle Garden}**

Once Anderson arrived, he could see that several contestants were teary, "Well, that was your first execution of many," said Anderson, "While it _is_ a shame that Jolene had to leave, you must stay keen to discover the Mole and you better start soon because we can't be moping around when we have a train to catch!"

The players looked up in surprise, "Huh?" asked Mona, "Train?"

"Of course! We're heading for our next location: Mushroom City, the liveliest place in the Kingdom!"

**A/N: Well, to make up for part three taking so long, I wrote this pretty quickly! I would of liked to make this longer, but I couldn't think of much else to put. I know several people suspected Jolene of being the Mole, so it seems the Mole is better hidden. Please read on when I update and remember to review!**


	5. The Mole Express

_Episode 2 Part 1_

_While the players had been fairly successful in their first episode, Jolene's removal at the first execution had lowered spirits. The Mole may have made them unprepared for the challenges up ahead, but no blame could be place, because the question still remained: Who is the Mole?_

_**Daisy**_

_Last Name:__ Sarasa_

_Birthday:__ June 2_

_Job:__ Politician/Pro Tennis Player_

_**Mallow**_

_Last Name:__ Nimbus_

_Birthday:__ April 24_

_Job:__ Weatherman/Politician_

_**Mario**_

_Last Name:__ Mario_

_Birthday:__ May 22_

_Job:__ Plumber/Adventurer _

_**Mona**_

_Last Name:__ Martin_

_Birthday:__ August 16_

_Job:__ Game Designer/ Cook_

_**Monty**_

_Last Name:__ Mole_

_Birthday:__ January 17_

_Job:__ Miner_

_**Shy Guy**_

_Last Name:__ Maskio_

_Birthday:__ July 5_

_Job:__ Actor_

_**Timpani **_

_Last Name:__ Bleck_

_Birthday:__ March 4_

_Job:__ Psychologist_

_**Toadiko**_

_Last Name:__ Shroomose_

_Birthday:__ September 8_

_Job:__ Scholar_

_**Wolley**_

_Last Name: __Ohtoad_

_Birthday:__ December 19_

_Job:__ Royal Assistant_

_Mallow: It was really sad to see Jolene go, it would have been sad to see __**anybody**__ go! But Anderson immediately had plans for us. I wonder, what lies ahead in Mushroom City?_

_Monty: I had felt a bit of a friendship with Jolene in the short time she was here, so I'm especially sad to see her go._

"Come on players! We don't want to be late!" insisted Anderson as he led the now nine contestants through the streets of Toad Town towards the train station.

"Why do we have to leave so quickly?" asked Toadiko.

"Viewer interest in a new location," said Anderson simply, "The producers are setting us up in a nice hotel and we don't want to miss our reservation do we?"

"Not at all!" insisted Daisy, breaking into a jog.

"I must warn you," said Anderson, also jogging, "That first episode was just an appetizer, the challenges are going to be even harder in this episode!"

Shy Guy gulped, "Oh boy."

Wolley snorted, "Piece of cake!"

Timpani glanced over at Wolley, "I wouldn't be so sure," she said nervously.

"We did fine last episode!" insisted Wolley, "We'll probably just have a little bit more trouble."

"Or maybe the mole will make a major strike," retorted Monty.

"We-a should stop worrying about that now until the time-a comes!" put in Mario.

"You never should put your guard down, Mario," said Anderson.

"Mama-mia."

They approached the Grand Shroom Station, adorned with mushroom-red bricks and golden plates drilled into the front. Inside, was a busy mess of mostly Toads running across the station to whatever train they were heading for.

Anderson led them to the train at the very back of the station, "We will be taking this train to Mushroom City. Those of you who have bags, we loaded them up for you. You'll be staying in the sleeping compartment, have a nice time, but beware of the Mole."

With that "pleasant" last thought in their heads, the contestants boarded the train, it was fairly nice, certainly better than a clean subway, but not as good as the famed Excess Express and Perplex Express. The players were led to the sleeping compartment and sat down on their assigned beds. Some players such as Toadiko, Timpani and Monty, decided to rest after the long day, while others wrote about the execution in their journals. However, Daisy was giving an unnerving glare at Shy Guy.

_Shy Guy: Daisy was really freaking me out, I didn't want to say anything, but the pressure got to me._

"What is it!" he finally snapped.

"I have a grudge," Daisy said simply.

"What have I done to you?" asked Shy Guy.

"You've insulted me," she replied.

Shy Guy looked really confused, "I have **no** idea what you're talking about," he said, his voice rising for a rare moment.

"Neon Heights."

A look of understanding came upon Shy Guy, "You tried that acting class didn't you?" he muttered.

Daisy nodded angrily, "Yep."

_Shy Guy; I really did not expect that to be brought up. I disappointed a whole lot of people back then._

"What did I say to you?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Well, even though I thought I had put on a fairly good performance, I had one little screw up and you said that your **dog **was a better actor, a real blow to the ego right there that was!"  
"Oh, _that_?" he asked, "I was serious. I have a world famous trained dog that is actually an amazing actor, most people in that class knew that, so I assumed you did too," he clarified, shrinking back after talking so much.

Daisy blinked, "Really? I've been angry about that for years! That's actually a relief!"

_Daisy: I could tell he wasn't lying, it feels good to not carry that grudge around with me anymore! He's off my suspect list for now!_

Suddenly, somebody cried out, "Hey! Check this out!" It was Monty (who appeared to have fallen off his bed), he pulled himself out from under the bed, holding a wooden box with a note that said "Don't Open!"

"Open it!" said Wolley.

"But it _clearly _says not to!"

"It could contain important information about the Mole!" insisted Mario.

Meanwhile, however, Daisy had noticed something, "Umm guys! There's boxes under all of our beds!"

Everyone scrambled to their beds, each picking up a strange box exactly like Monty's, several people shot sly looks at the rest and what everybody did with their box was a secret until the last light was turned off and everybody was asleep.

**{1:00 A.M.}**

Suddenly, the overhead lights in the train car flew on and three police stormed in, one was a female Toad with a blue cap, one was a Koopa with a red shell and one was a yellow Yoshi; they were all wearing generic police outfits.

"Alright everybody, hands up!" shouted the Koopa. Everyone quickly sat up and put up their hands.

"What's going on?" cried Toadiko.

"We haven't done anything wrong!" pleaded Mallow.

"We're here to investigate the boxes left to you by the producers!" said the female Toad quickly. The less serious players (such as Wolley) breathed a sigh of relief, while others stiffened.

_Wolley: Well __**that **__was a relief! I thought we were actually breaking the law or something! The worst thing that could happen is that we lose a bit of money._

Each player was taken into the jail compartment individually for questioning by the Yoshi, while the other two cops watched the rest of them. First up was… "Toadiko Shroomose, please come with me."

The Yoshi led Toadiko into a room with three cells, each containing three beds and a desk at which the Yoshi sat holding Toadiko's box, "Ms. Shroomose, you are being accused of looking into this box, even though it was clear that you shouldn't of. Did you or did you not look into this box?"

"No!" squeaked Toadiko.

The Yoshi opened the box and looked inside; there was a perfectly clear picture inside, "You are in fact telling the truth. You may head back." Toadiko thanked the Yoshi and sped out.

Daisy was the next one called in, she received the same greeting, and "Did you or did you not look into your box?" finished the Yoshi.

Daisy cursed under her breath, "Yes," she admitted.

"Well then, thank you for telling the truth, but you are still guilty, so you need to get into a cell," instructed the Yoshi, walking over to the cells, Daisy choose the one to the front of the room.

Monty was the next one called in, he looked over at Daisy, "You looked?" he asked. Daisy nodded solemnly.

After the same accusation, the Yoshi continued, "Monty Mole, did you or did you not open your box?"

"Of course I didn't!" exclaimed Monty.

The Yoshi looked into the box, the photo was completely black, "It seems you were lying, the photos will turn black when exposed to light."

"Crap."

"Get in a cell!"

Monty joined Daisy, thought the princess didn't look up at him when he entered.

Mallow was called in next, he was shaking nervously, but he was still able to reply to the question when asked… kinda. "Ye-I mean n-no!"

"Did you or did you not open the box?" repeated the Yoshi, angrily.

"I did not!"

The Yoshi opened the box and sure enough, the photo was perfectly clear, "You are correct, you may return to the sleeping compartment."

Mallow gave a sigh of relief before throwing a sympathetic glance at Daisy and Monty, Monty gave a signal that would do okay, Daisy gave a thumbs up.

Wolley came in next, giving a cheeky grin to the two in jail before being questioned. "Of course not!" he said in an innocent tone.

The Yoshi peeked into the box, "You're a bad liar, get in a cell!" Wolley joined Daisy and Monty, filling up the cell.

"Aw man."

Next called in was Mario, he was questioned like usual and just sighed afterwards, "Yes, I-a looked."

"Well, you are an honest man Mario, choose a cell." Mario went into the empty cell in the middle.

Timpani walked in next, she looked pretty confident. When asked if she opened the box, she calmly answered, "No."

"Hm, true, you didn't look in the box, good job." And Timpani was on her way.

Shy Guy slunk into the room, showing no emotion other than exhaustion. When the Yoshi asked him about the box he just groaned and snapped, "No, can I go back to be yet?"

The Yoshi looked into the box, "Yes, you may leave."

Mona was the last one to enter, "Mona Martin, you are accused of looking into the box that was clearly labeled 'do not open'," started the Yoshi, "Did you or did you not open your box?"

"Of course I didn't!" exclaimed Mona. She wasn't lying.

"You may head back."

**{The Next Morning}**

Mario groaned as he sat up, the jail beds weren't very comfortable. "Man, itsa so lonely over here."

The Koopa cop glanced over at Mario, "About time you woke up! It's about 9 A.M. and we're arriving in about two hours and I'll let you out about an hour before we arrive."

"What's with all the talking?" grumbled Daisy.

"P-p-project café," Wolley mumbled in his sleep.

Monty sat up, "We're not even there yet?"

"Well, Mushroom City is even farther East than Darkland, so that's pretty far," said the Koopa.

Wolley snorted in his sleep, "Mr. Game and Watch!" Daisy kicked him.

Suddenly, the train started to slow down and finally came to a stop, "Are we there?" asked Wolley, now somewhat awake.

"Hm, we shouldn't, we still have two hours left!"

"Mama Mia!"

**{Back in the Sleeping Compartment}**

All the not guilty contestants except for Shy Guy were up, as the train stopped, they flocked to the windows to see their destination, but just saw empty countryside.

"Are we there?" called Shy Guy from his bed.

"Oddly enough, no," said Timpani.

"Maybe we're out of fuel," suggested Mallow.

"Actually, we're not!" said Anderson, bursting into the compartment. Shy Guy screamed, jumping out of his bed.

"DON'T. DO. THAT!" he shouted.

Anderson chuckled, "We hosts always come out of nowhere like that, you'll get used to it."

Shy Guy sighed, "Whatever, at least I'm awake."

"Well, as I was trying to tell you, there's a problem with the train's mechanics and you all might want to check it out," he suggested.

"Why?"

"Well, for one we want to get going, plus you may find something nice!"

"That's enough reason for me! Where's the engine room?" asked Mona.

"In the back of the train."

"Let's go!" Mona immediately headed towards the back of the train, Mallow hurried after her and the other three soon followed.

Well, the only cart between them and the engine room was the luggage cart, so after climbing over several random suitcases, Mona and Mallow burst into the engine room, then Shy Guy, then Toadiko finally Timpani.

"Well, the gears are obviously stopped," noted Mona.

Mallow looked over at the wall and saw a power box, he opened it up and took a look at circuitry. "Well, I'm not an expert on circuits, but it doesn't seem like an electrical failure," said the Nimbian.

"I don't think Anderson would send us here if circuits would need to be fixed anyways, it would be too complicated," reasoned Toadiko.

"Should these pipes be hissing like that?" asked Timpani, looking at the steam coming out of the pipeworks.

Meanwhile, Shy Guy and Mona were digging around in the gears when both of them saw a glint of green, Shy Guy reached for it first, but his arms were too short and Mona got to it. She gave a sympathetic look towards Shy Guy and held out the exemption towards him, but he shook his head.

"You got it, it's yours," he said, not looking like he quite believed in his own words, but he kept his regrets to himself as Mona cheered, showing her newfound prize to the others.

"Well done folks!" cheered Anderson, clapping as he entered the room.

Shy Guy nearly had a heart attack, "Please stop showing up like that!" he squeaked.

"Well, you got the exemption and look, the gears are starting to move again!" exclaimed Anderson, ignoring Shy Guy's complaint. The players looked over towards the heavy gears that were groaning as they started to move again.

"We best be getting out of here, it's going to heat up very quickly!" said Anderson and as he was speaking, the room's temperature already went up a few degrees.

"This cloak is not good in the heat!" exclaimed Shy Guy, walking out.

"He seems more social today," noted Timpani.

"Please, we best be going!" insisted Anderson.

**{1 Hour Later-The Sleeping Compartment}**

"Free! I'm free from the shackles of this oppressive government!" shouted Wolley, jumping out into the room and kissing the floor. Shy Guy screamed, but had no further complaints.

"Isn't that a little overdramatic?" asked Daisy, rolling her eyes as she walked in.

"Just a bit," mumbled Wolley from the floor.

"You really have no idea how many trillions of germs probably are on that floor do you?" asked Monty, walking into the room. Wolley gagged and spit onto the floor.

"What's-a up?" asked Mario, the last one to come back in.

"Well, the train stopped," started Timpani.

"And we had to check out the engine room," continued Toadiko.

"And I found this!" exclaimed Mona, holding up her exemption.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Wolley, "That's so unfair!"

"That's what you get for looking in the box!" retorted.

"The image didn't even show up for that freakin' long," muttered Monty.

"So it wasn't worth jail time?" asked Timpani.

"Not quite."

"It was still worth it!"

"It wasn't worth missing an exemption," grumbled Daisy.

"Do you think the Mole had anything to do with this?" asked Mallow.

"Probably not," concluded Mario.

"Then what's left to say?" asked Monty.

There really wasn't anything left to say; since everybody was present (nobody bothered accusing people of being the mole). So, everybody settled down and wrote about the recent events of the game in their journals, but soon they all scrambled to the windows when the announcement was made. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm happy to announce that even after the shutdown of the engine, we are fifteen minutes ahead of schedule and we should pull into the Mushroom City station within a few minutes!" announce the conductor over the intercom.

"Sweet!" cheered Wolley, dashing to the window first to get a good view of the city. It was huge, about sixty square miles! It had skyscrapers jutting out everywhere, blocking out a large part of the horizon.

"Wow," breathed Timpani.

"That's one big city!"

"Hey Mario, remember back when we had to kart race on the streets? That was crazy," said Daisy (it rhymes!)

"Mama mia, that was a deadly race! They even had the bob-omb cars driving around!"

"B-bob-omb cars?" shuttered Mallow.

"Great," muttered Shy Guy sarcastically.

_Monty: The random crap on this show never ceases to amaze me._

"I wonder, what sort of challenges we'll have here?" asked Mona.

There was a pause, "Isn't it about time for Anderson to burst in?" asked Shy Guy.

"Guess not," said Daisy.

"Maybe he has something better to do."

"Better than his job?"

"Well, he might be setting up a mission or something," suggested Mallow.

"…I shoulda thought of that," said Wolley.

Finally, the train came to a stop and the contestants filed out into the gigantic city where Anderson was nowhere to be seen. "Where are we supposed to go?" wondered Timpani.

"Well, Anderson said we'd-a be going to a hotel, but he didn't say where," said Mario.

"Maybe we have to find him," said Daisy.

So, they walked about, against the flow of people heading towards their train. Anderson was nowhere in sight and the contestants were losing hope, when Mario stopped them. "Hey, that's-a the Paragloomba I met during the Super Mole Bros. challenge!"

"That's strange," said Monty, "I guess we should talk to him."

"No $#%* Sherlock," muttered Wolley.

"What was that!"

"Nothing."

"Whatever, Mario why don't you talk to the guy since he knows you?"

"I got it!" Mario walked over to the same Paragloomba with the pointy red cap. "Excuse-a me? Do you work for the producers of the mole?"

"Well, actually I was told I work for Anderson Blooper, but yeah," he said, turning to Mario. "Hey! I know you! You're Mario… and I helped you out in a challenge earlier," he looked over at the rest of the contestants, "I assume you're looking for Anderson." Mario nodded, "Get them over here."

"So are you who we're looking for?" asked Monty as they approached.

"Yeah, I'm Gloombadrick, employee of Anderson Blooper, pleased ta meet ya'."

_Monty: It's odd that Gloombadrick met us here instead of Anderson. This guy seems like a __**shady **__character! Haha! Get it? No?... You see it's because he's a __**Glo**__- Oh, you do get it? Well then why weren't you… oh._

"Where's Anderson?" asked Toadiko.

"He has to set up some… **things**."

"Like what?" asked Mona.

"Like **THINGS!**"

"Geez, sorry I asked."

"Well, I'm here to take you all to your hotel; follow me," said Gloombadrick, walking away.

Shy Guy shrugged and followed him, "You coming?" he asked when the others didn't follow.

"He just seems kinda shady." Wolley groaned at the literal Mole's pun and followed Shy Guy and the rest followed him.

"Everyone's a critic!"

They walked through the streets, following the speedy and shady Gloombadrick, through crowded sidewalks, open plazas and past some hobo holding a sign that said "The End is Near!" Wait, no it didn't, Toadiko, Shy Guy and Wolley all noted that it actually said "The Mole is Near!" It was just assumed it said "End" because they usually did.

"Did you see that sign?" Shy Guy whispered to Toadiko.

"I did!" whispered Wolley, having overheard Shy Guy.

"Me too," said Toadiko, "At first I thought it said 'End is Near!'"

_Toadiko: The clues are everywhere! The producers always try to get us to think!_

"And I thought we could stop thinking about the Mole for a bit!"

"You really need to take this game more seriously Wolley."

"When it gets harder, I will!"

"Well, Anderson **did** say that this episode would be much harder," pointed out Shy Guy.

"Since when did **you** become less shy?"

"Wolley!" exclaimed Toadiko.

"Alright! Alright!" snapped Wolley, "I'm sorry Shy Guy, I'm just kinda peeved. I'll see how this episode goes and decide if I should be more serious!"

"You better not make us lose money!" warned Toadiko.

"Got it!"

Mona looked back at the trio, "You all seem distracted!"

"Says who?" asked Wolley.

"Says our hotel!"

"Mjigaha-What!" blurted Wolley, looking up and sure enough, he was met with the sight of their magnificent five-star hotel.

"I guess we were distracted!" giggled Toadiko.

"Well, save your strategy discussion for later, when we all can sit down and relax," sighed Mona.

"We've been relaxing for a while now!"

"Just shut up until we get to our rooms!" snapped Mona before stomping away.

_Mona: That Wolley! He has a keen ability to annoy people. In more simple terms, he's a… d-bag… I'm not sure if the full word is appropriate for this show._

"There you are!" said Daisy as they walked into the lobby.

"Well, now that everybody's here, here's your room keys," said Gloombadrick said, handing out key cards. Timpani and Daisy had room 703, Mona and Toadiko had room 704, Mario, Mallow and Monty all had room 705, and Wolley and Shy Guy had room 706.

The player went up to their rooms, each was a large suite with plush beds and their own mini-fridges, but they only got to sit there for five minutes before they all got a call from Anderson.

"Greetings players! Welcome to Mushroom City! I hate to break up your rest, but I think you've had far too long a rest time don't you think? Meet me up on the roof for your first challenge of episode 2!"

**. . .**

**A/N: This was kind of a filler chapter, but I'm glad I was able to get some character development in, even if it was mostly for two characters (Shy Guy and Wolley). Stay tuned for the first challenge of episode two!**


	6. Falling Sixteen Stories

_Episode 2 Part 2_

The nine contestants made their way up to the roof, sixteen stories off the ground, a dizzying height. "Don't look down," muttered Toadiko, looking straight ahead.

"Welcome contestants! I'm sorry I couldn't personally take you to the hotel, but I was busy setting up… **things**," greeted Anderson.

"Again with the **things**!" exclaimed Mona.

"Yes."

"Okie-dokie," said Mario.

"Ah, right, the Challenge!" said Anderson, "This Mission is called 'Rooftop Run'. Eight of you need to rappel down the side of the hotel to the third floor and find a way across to the shopping mall next door, there you will make your way through an obstacle course, at the end, you'll find a safe where, once everyone's there, you'll enter a five number combination where you'll get one last instruction on what to do.

"How will we know the combination?" asked Daisy.

"That's where the spare player comes in," said Anderson, "They'll be up here, taking a short quiz, for every question they get right, I'll give them a correct number, for the ones they get wrong, I'll give them a random number! Now, who will take the quiz?"

Toadiko quickly raised her hand, "I will! I'm terrified of heights!"

"Alright! Everybody else get harnessed up!" said Anderson. The crew helped the eight climbers get into their harnesses, hooked them up to their own ropes and led them to the wall. "This challenge is worth 15,000 coins! You have two and a half hours!"

"No problem!" cheered Wolley, he then looked down and his grin fell, "Oh… that might take a while."

"Remember, you can use the wall as support!" called Daisy.

"Like walking down the wall?" asked Shy Guy.

"Yeah, pretty much!"

"Left, right, left, right," Timpani muttered to the rhythm of her climbing, Shy Guy soon matched that, along with Monty.

"How are you going so fast?" shouted Daisy down to Mona.

"The only thing on my mind is the faster we finish, the faster we get food!"

There was a pause, then suddenly Daisy screamed, "Oh crap, we've barely eaten today!" They had only had a few power bars each that day. The other six faltered at the sudden wave of hunger, but they all kept their grip… except for Wolley.

"$#%*" The toad plummeted an entire story before the crew up top was able to catch him. "Oh my god that was horrible!" He looked up, "But it's a great way to get down!" he chuckled after noticing he was now past Mario.

"Hey Anderson! Why do you refuse to give us food?" shouted.

"Added challenge?" shrugged Anderson.

"You bastard!" shouted Wolley.

_Wolley: Yeah, I was pretty mad then… too mad? Nah!_

Anderson sighed, "I'm only gonna let that slide because you fell!" he called, "Otherwise I'd take away money for that!"

Mario glared at Wolley, "Cool it!"

"Let's just focus on going faster!" shouted Monty, picking up the pace.

"Amen," said Shy Guy, going after him.

"Way to leave me behind guys!" shouted Timpani before hurrying up as well.

Meanwhile, Daisy was slowing down and a couple floors down, she was behind everybody. "Time to throw caution to the wind!" she shouted.

The person controlling Daisy's rope sweat dropped, "I'd advise against that!" she shouted.

"You're not the one earning the money here!" replied Daisy before jumping. "Wahoooooooo!" Finally, two and a half stories down, she was stopped, putting her just a bit behind Wolley (who still had managed to stay ahead of the rest)

_Daisy: You gotta take some risks in this game. That was actually really fun._

"What floor are we on?" yelled Timpani.

"7th!"

Mario suddenly let go of the rope, "Third floor here I-a come!" he shouted, doing a few twists and spins to show off as he fell. He was caught at the third floor, "Perfect!"

"You people are crazy!" shouted one of the camera men.

"Money makes everybody crazy!" shouted Mona before jumping as well, "I get greedy inspiration from Wario!"

"Come on Mallow! Your falling behind!" warned Timpani.

"Time to show them that this cloud boy ain't afraid of heights!" he muttered before jumping, with a push off the wall and doing a few backflips, "That's at least one thing I'm brave about!"

"Nice job Mallow!" cheered Mario, attempting to high five the boy, but he was too far away.

Wolley and Daisy arrived down next, "Sweet!" cheered Daisy.

"What are we waiting for? Let's keep going!" insisted Wolley.

"Well, we should probably wait for the other three to get down here before we get going," suggested Mona.

"Other two," said Monty arriving.

"One," corrected Shy Guy having fallen (accidentally) a few stories.

"We're good!" said Timpani, coming down a few seconds later.

"How long did that-a take?" asked Mario.

Monty checked his watch, "fifty minutes."

"No way!"

"It did **not** feel that long!"

"Well, how are we going to get across to the mall?" asked Timpani.

"It's-a only seven feet!" said Mario, pushing off the wall in an attempt to get across, he got about four and a half feet, but he couldn't quite reach the other side. Mario pondered the problem for a moment, "Somebody give me a push!" he said, Daisy and Wolley (who were next to him) pushed him and he swung four, five, five and a half feet! It was enough to let him grab the side of the building and pull himself up. He pulled an emergency knife out of a pouch in his harness and cut his rope.

"Alright, Mario!" cheered Mona, "Hey guys, give **me** a push!" Wolley and Monty pushed her and she made it to the wall as well. The same was done with Timpani and Mallow (who Shy Guy alone was somehow able to get across, but for the rest, they couldn't quite get pushed across, they were stuck there!

"Maybe they could push across and grab our arms," suggested Timpani.

"Great idea! Hey-a Guys! One of you push off and-a grab my hands!" shouted Mario. He leaned a bit over the edge, shuttering as he looked down, it was a three story drop, though there were air cushions, **but** it was still a three story drop.

Daisy pushed off and Mario was able to grab her arms easily, the same came for Shy Guy, but the others took a couple of tries to catch. Once Monty was finally up Daisy said, "Well, now that the Mole is up, let's go and hope the Mole doesn't sabotage us!" "What!" she asked when she received eye rolls.

"Was that an attempt at a pun?" asked Monty. Daisy slowly nodded. "Leave those to me sister," he said before walking off.

**{The Hotel Roof}**

Once Monty was pulled up, Anderson turned to Toadiko, "Okay, now that everyone's starting the obstacle course, you can start your quiz," he said, handing Toadiko a piece of paper with a five question quiz on it.

**What Nation does the Mushroom Kingdom share the most of its borders with.**

**If the Answer is Darkland, your number is 9**

**If the Answer is Sarasaland, your number is 5**

**If the Answer is Beanbean Kingdom, your number is 7**

**Little Fungi town is a town in the Beanbean Kingdom that is a home to refugees from where?**

**If the Answer is Other Galaxies, your number is 8**

**If the Answer is the Mushroom Kingdom, your number is 1**

**If the Answer is Jewelry Land, your number is 7**

**Who attacked Sarasaland 22 years ago?**

**If the Answer is Bowser, your number is 2**

**If the Answer is Tatanga, your number is 3**

**If the Answer is Cackletta, your number is 4**

**What city is surrounded by Petal Meadows, Boggly Woods and Twilight Town?**

**If the answer is Flipside, your number is 0**

**If the answer is Mushroom City, your number is 5**

**If the answer is Rougeport, your number is 7**

**What is the name of the world's most profitable Microgames company?**

**If the answer is Warioware Inc, your number is 3**

**If the answer is Wintendo, your number is 8**

**If the answer is Sega, your number is 0**

_Toadiko: Being a scholar, the quiz was piece of cake, though I did have a little bit of trouble with the last question._

**{Meanwhile-The Mall Roof}**

The party of eight ran up to the first obstacle: a simple hurdle. Mario easily cleared it, so did Daisy and Mona, the rest had to duck under and it took Timpani the longest, seeing that she was so tall. Next they came upon multiple hurdles of different heights which took about twenty seconds for even Mario to get through; it took about a minute for Monty and Wolley to get through.

"Hurry up!" shouted Daisy.

They came upon a complex entanglement of rope that they had to get through. The smaller folks were able to get through easily, but the four humans had more trouble getting through and it took Mario, the last one this time, seven minutes to get through the fifteen feet of rope.

"How big is this mall!"

"I don't know, but I'm running out of strength!" replied Monty.

"We need to keep going!" insisted Mallow.

The came upon their last obstacle, but it wasn't an easy one, it was a giant labyrinth, made out of wood, and the safe was at the very center.

"I say we split up to find the safe!" suggested Monty.

"But we all need to get there to open the safe!" protested Timpani.

"Then we'll tell everybody how to get there!"

"That won't work," Shy Guy said bluntly.

"You won't work!" shouted Wolley before charging into the maze.

_Mona: Is Wolley really that arrogant, is he stupid, or the mole?_

"I guess we have a plan then," shrugged Mona, going in too.

"See, my plan seems to have some support!" said Monty before taking a different route.

The rest o' everybody went in (even though it was a tight fit), but they ended up going their separate ways (except for Shy Guy and Timpani, who stuck together).

Wolley charged blindly through the maze taking rights and lefts and straights, turning round and round and round, going from dead end to dead end until, "I admit it: I'm lost!"

"We're all lost!" shouted Monty, in an area near the center, but cut off from the safe.

"Shy Guy and I might be making progress!" called Timpani and they in fact weren't too far from the center.

"And were does that leave the rest of us?" Mona sassed more towards Monty and Wolley than Timpani.

"This was a bad idea!" whined Mallow.

"Okay, everybody just focus!" ordered Daisy. The contestants grew quiet. "The hunger is getting to us! We just need to calm down and think a way out of this! Timpani, Shy Guy, you both need to focus on getting to the safe, everybody else, try to get out, Timpani can tell us how to get to the center."

"Do you-a remember the way you've gone?" asked Mario.

"I think _I _do," said Shy Guy.

_Mario: It seems like Daisy had a plan…planned. A bit-a suspicious if you ask me._

"Well we're definitely not going to be able to hear the directions then," sneered Wolley, still far away from anything or anybody.

Timpani sighed, "**I'll** relay the directions to you!"

Mona soon made it out, followed by Daisy, then Mario, Mallow and finally Monty.

"Um, where's Wolley?"

Suddenly, Wolley burst out of the maze, throwing himself to the ground, "I thought I'd never get out of there!"

"…"

"Really?"

"What!"

Meanwhile, Timpani and Shy Guy were making progress, getting within a few turns of the center of the maze. "Right, left," muttered Shy Guy as they took the turns, "Left fork…we're there!"

"Ready guys?" shouted Timpani.

"Huh? What!"

"We're at the center!"

"Oh! Um, yeah, we're ready!"

"Alright, go left, right, straight, straight, left, sharp right, straight, left fork!" instructed Timpani as the group took the directions, but they didn't make it there and they had to go back several times and try different routes, but they eventually made it to the center.

"Well, at least it worked eventually," mumbled Monty, stumbling from the increasing hunger, "Can we just finish this?"

Back on the hotel's rooftop, Anderson turned from his laptop with a live feed to the players to Toadiko, "They've made it to the safe, use this to tell them the combination," he instructed, handing her a walkie-talkie.

Toadiko pressed the button on the walkie-talkie, "H-hello? Can you all hear me?"

Suddenly, everyone down in the maze heard Toadiko's voice in headsets they were unknowingly wearing. "Huh!" they all blared, all the noise startled Toadiko.

"Gah! Please, can only one of you speak?"

"Sure!" said Mario, Monty, Mona, Daisy, Wolley and Timpani at the same time.

"Uhg! Uh, um… Mona! Only you talk… please!"

"Got it!" said **only **Mona.

"Okay, go down to the safe!" Mona knelt down by the safe.

"Now what?"

"Enter this combination: **9-1-3-7-8**"

Mona entered in the combination but the safe didn't open, "Hey, it won't open! What gives?"

"Well **excuse** me!" replied Toadiko, hurt, "Try changing the last number that was the one question I wasn't sure about."

Mona kept entering in different numbers until she entered a 3 for the last number and the safe opened! "Yes! I got it!" Inside was a piece of paper that said "Your last team member must climb down the building, you will meet them at the edge of the mall."

"Oh crap!" shouted Wolley, having read the paper over Mona's shoulder.

"What?" asked Toadiko.

"You have to climb down the building and we only have…_Monty! How much time do we have?... _fifty minutes!" said Wolley, knowing the full extent of Toadiko's fear of heights.

Toadiko froze, starting to freak out, "No! No way! I just… can't!"

"You have to!" insisted Wolley.

"I can't!"

"You **can**!" reassured Shy Guy.

"Come on, did the first challenge and you didn't even have a harness!" said Mario.

Toadiko gulped, "I-I'll try," she stuttered. Everyone cheered.

The group easily found their way back out of the maze and approached the rope entanglement, "Oh come-a on!" exclaimed Mario, not looking forward to struggling to get through there again. However, he did have to get through there again, so did the rest of them, taking even longer to get through from hunger.

"Ya' know, I might have to eat Wolley's cap if this takes too long," mumbled Monty.

Wolley gave him a disturbed look, but then gave it a second, hungry, thought, "That might be a good idea," he said right before running straight into a hurdle.

"Stop thinking about self-cannibalism and focus on the challenge!" growled Mona.

"For lunch!" Wolley shouted cheesily before dashing off, Monty snickered.

Everyone passed the final/first hurdle with ease somehow and raced to the edge of the mall, where (with 25 minutes left) Toadiko was shaking in terror only a few stories down.

Wolley face-palmed, "We're screwed!"

Daisy looked up to Toadiko, "You're not gonna make it in time unless you jump most of the way down!" she shouted.

"**HELL NO!**" screamed Toadiko in a freaked out outburst.

"Well then get going now!" yelled Shy Guy angrily, now unable to stand the possible upcoming failure.

Toadiko started back down at a frighteningly slow pace, but after many complaints from the others, she picked up the pace to slower than a normal one, but not completely horrible. Then she looked down. She screamed like a small child and started violently shaking, gripping the line as tight as she could, not moving at all.

_Monty: Toadiko seemed pretty serious when she freaked out, but does anybody really get __**that**__ scared of heights?_

"Isn't that a bit suspicious?" Daisy asked everybody.

"Kinda," said Mallow.

"Definitely," agreed Mona.

"Somewhat overdramatic," commented Timpani.

"No," disagreed Wolley, "I've known Toadiko since we were kids, she is **really** freaking terrified of heights, to the extent of…that. It was a miracle that she did the skateboarding challenge."

"Oh,"

"Come-a on Toadiko, they won't-a let you fall!" said Mario.

"They let you fall!"

"Well that's because we-a let go and they only let us fall a few stories!"

Toadiko started to inch down again, but it was evident that she wasn't going to make it in time, there was only five minutes down and she had six stories to go at a half story per minute pace at her fastest.

When time was finally up, the crew helped her down and over to the mall roof. When she arrived, the contestants could see that she had been crying, Wolley and Shy Guy walked up to her to comfort her Mona came up too, acting a bit like a motherly figure in terms of comforting.

However, the sweet moment was broken when Monty made the buzz-kill statement, "Can we have lunch now?"

"Yes, I think It's about time we stopped starving you," said Anderson (who had arrived at the same time as Toadiko).

**{The Woohoohee}**

Anderson took them to a nice restaurant called the Woohoohee, a restaurant that served food from the Beanbean kingdom. While the group waited for a waiter to take their orders, Anderson addressed the group, "So, let's discuss the challenge, shall we?"

"Let's not!" snapped Toadiko, glaring.

_Toadiko: I really didn't want to think about the challenge, it was __**bad**__._

Anderson sighed, "Yes, let's. There were many suspicious things done in this challenge, let's review them!"

"Srr" mumbled Monty through his food.

"Well, first of all, we have Toadiko. She not only took a very long time getting down the wall, but she also got one of the password questions wrong? Was this all just an act?"

"How could you say such a thing!" exclaimed Toadiko, looking like she wanted to either break into tears or take a swing at Anderson.

"It's just speculation!" defended Anderson, "Next, we have Wolley, who, along with the rest of the shorter contestants, got stuck on a lot of the hurdles, but also caused a whole lot of problems and delays at the maze, is that just impatience and size or is he really being a clever mastermind?"

"I am a clever mastermind, but am I the mole?"

"Also it should be noted that there were portions where everybody struggled on the obstacles, maybe some of it was on purpose."

"Well, now that **that** incident of terror is over, how 'bout some lunch?" asked Monty, pointing to the waiter who had just showed up.

"Just a second," Anderson said politely, "One last thing, Mallow, you had an oddly brave moment in this challenge, what's up with that?"

"I'm not afraid of heights, no Nimbians are, that just wouldn't work."

"The why were you afraid of the first mission?" challenged Timpani.

"This challenge was more controlled, I knew I would be caught when I jumped, in the first mission, there was a much larger potential for me to wreck."

"I see."

"Now that we've gotten all that cleared up, let's order some lunch!" said Anderson.

"Huzzah!" shouted Wolley and Monty.

However, as the contestants started to order their Beanish cuisines, Anderson mysteriously vanished again. "More **things** to set up," he had said.

Mario looked over at Mallow, "So, how's-a the mole hunting?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I think I might actually have a few suspects!" he cheered.

"See, you're-a getting the hang of it!"

"Well, I'm probably completely wrong, but it's a start!" said Mallow.

Meanwhile, Timpani and Daisy were having a completely different conversation. "I've heard about you from Peach," said Daisy.

"Really? I didn't know she had said anything about me!" said Daisy.

"She did! I heard a whole lot about your adventures with her when you were still a pixie or whatever."

"Pixl."

"Oh. Well she also said you and Count Bleck had disappeared!" said Daisy.

"Well, we had gone off back to our home when we were young, but eventually we came to visit the Mushroom Kingdom and we decided to stay!"

"And you're still with Count Bleck?" asked Daisy.

"Yeah, well his name is actually Blumiere, but yes, I'm still married to him, I could never leave him!"

"You're lucky to have somebody who you love so much, I wish I did," admitted Daisy.

"I'm sure you'll find somebody!"

At the same time as both conversations, Shy Guy was in a very awkward situation for somebody as shy as him. 'At least it's not alcohol!' he thought to himself. He was surrounded by a very hyper Mona and Wolley who had gone through three energy drinks each! For a while, he had just been trying to ignore their shouts to each other, but finally the hyper duo turned on Shy Guy.

"HeyShyGuy!" Mona shouted quickly, "WhatDoesYourFaceLookLike?" she asked, reaching for his mask.

"Nobody can see the face of a Shy Guy!" Shy Guy said, freaking out.

"WhyNotJustBreakTheRule?" asked Wolley.

"I will be an outcast of my species!"

"So?"

"Just…no."

"Whatev."

After lunch, the contestants went back to the hotel where they were met not by Anderson, but once again by Gloombadrick. "Welcome contestants."

"Where's Anderson?"

"He's not here, he's been taken by...the master of Mushroom City!" replied Gloombadrick mysteriously.

"Lolwut!"

"Shut up Wolley."

**A/N: Yeah, a bit of a strange cliffhanger, be prepared for more "Master of Mushroom City" stuff, it's kind of a plot for the rest of the episode.**


	7. Timed Trials and Tensions

**(Results From Last Challenge)**

**Team Pot**

**51,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**0 Coins**

**Result:**** 51,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 77,000 Coins**

_Episode 2 Part 3_

"Who's the Master of Mushroom City?" asked Mallow.

"I actually have no idea, I just have his orders," confessed Gloombadrick, holding up a piece of paper. "Well, he's requested that you all meet him but first, he needs you to compete in some challenges!"

"Groan!"

"For money?" asked Mario.

"Yes."

"You all can chill back at the hotel or explore the city or something like that, but you all **have** to meet me back at the lobby at 4:00 P.M. sharp! 1,000 coins will be deducted for anybody who's late!"

"Yet again: Groan!" blurted Wolley.

Timpani turned to him angrily, "Will you learn when to keep your mouth shut!" she snapped.

"Nah!" he said before walking off to do whatever.

"What is his problem?" huffed Timpani.

"He's young," sighed Toadiko, "Young and irresponsible."

"Young and Mole-ish!" said Daisy.

"Perhaps we could all get out of here and discuss our suspicions out on the town," suggested Monty.

"Looks like somebody has suspicions about us!" teased Mona.

"Why of course! I'm not gonna just assume Wolley's the Mole and leave it at that! That would be suicide!"

"…Good point!" With that, Monty left and soon followecd the rest of the group, though most of them went off in smaller bunches.

"Hey Mario! Wait up!" called Mona.

Mario turned around in slight surprise, "Hey Mona, what's-a up?"

"I just thought, since we're the only two who haven't met each other before, we should hang out!" explained Mona.

"Is that-a it?"

"Weeeeeell, I was thinking we _could_ discuss some suspicions," admitted Mona.

Mario paused, "Sure, why-a not?"

_Mona: Mario is a secretive man in this game, believe it or not, so it was surprising he decided to open up so easily._

_Mario: Mona is somebody who people would-a least suspect me to be in a coalition with so… Why-a not?_

The duo walked through the city trying to find a good place to discuss the game, they eventually found a grassy hill on the edge of a city park that seemed perfect.

"So," said Mona eagerly, "who do you suspect?"

Mario thought for a second, "I actually don't-a suspect Wolley."

Mona was surprised, "Huh? Like not at all? But he totally sabotages everything!"

"That's the-a thing! I don't think the Mole would-a be that obvious! They never are on the-a Mole in other places! I think his personality is just messing things up…but that may-a be what he wants us to-a think, but I doubt it!" explained Mario.

"Wow, I never thought of it like that! Thanks Mario, you probably saved my bacon!"

"No problemo! So, who do you-a suspect?"

"…"

"Was Wolley the only one?"

"…"

Mario sighed, "Well, who-a at least _seemed_ suspicious?"

"Toadiko was _really_ suspicious today! And uh…" she flipped open her notebook, "Daisy has some sort of strange fixation on Monty."

"Uhhhhhhh"

"I mean she's suspicious of him!" quickly explained Mona.

Mario chuckled at his mistake.

Mona giggled, "Did you really think…" she burst out laughing then Mario broke out into a laugh and soon the two of them were uncontrollably laughing, rolling around on the grass until they finally calmed down and Mona checked the time. "Uh-oh, it's already 3:30, we should probably start heading back to the hotel! We'll finish our conversation on the way back."

"Alrighty!" said Mario, "So, uh…I was wondering…would you like to-a form a coalition with me?"

That caught Mona off guard, "Eh? Yeah! Totally! That sounds awesome! Together we'll take this game by storm!" she cheered.

Meanwhile, Mallow, Monty and Shy Guy were up on the roof of the hotel (they had gone back in with lack of better places after searching for quite a while). Monty looked at the two sitting before him, "First of all, before we start our discussion, I'd like to let you know that just because we're talking about this, doesn't mean you're above suspicion! But I value your opinions, so let's begin!"

"Ummm thanks?" muttered Mallow, "So, I guess we should lay down all of our suspicions right now shouldn't we?"

"That would be everybody," said Shy Guy bluntly.

"Point taken."

"Wait a minute!" blurted Monty, "We could exclude one man."

"Who?"

"I'd say Mario's innocent."

Shy Guy pondered this, "I guess. I don't remember him screwing up much."

"So we cross him off the list," said Mallow.

"Yeah and leave everybody else on it," finished Monty.

"But is there anybody who's _really_ suspicious?" asked Mallow.

"Toadiko was acting quite odd today wouldn't you say?" rhymed Monty.

"She has a horrible fear of heights!" defended Shy Guy.

"But is it really _that_ bad?" questioned Mallow.

"I bet so!"

"Well I guess we'll leave our verdict on her to ourselves then," declared Monty.

"Who else then?" asked Shy Guy attempting to keep Mallow off the topic.

"I dunno."

"What about each other?" asked Monty.

"What!"

_Monty: I thought it would be a good idea to get our suspicions about each other out of the way first…or out of the way in general, I don't think most contestants would admit their suspicions of somebody to that player. Now we know what we think of each other!_

_Mallow: Monty's suggestion could go good or bad, pretty much we'll come out of this either with more knowledge or in an argument._

_Shy Guy: I don't like being scrutinized by my peers but I'm sure I would get bugged to death if I didn't tell them what I thought._

"Uh sure. Mallow, you almost made us lose money on the very first challenge! That's pretty suspicious," said Shy Guy.

"I was terrified!" defended Mallow.

"But you're not scared of heights," pointed out Monty.

"I'm scared of speed!" clarified Mallow.

"Okay that's fair," said Monty, "Let's move on to Shy Guy, you really screwed a whole lot of us over in the bag shooters mission, what was up with that?"

"I would never pass up a chance for an exemption," said Shy Guy quietly.

"Why are you so quiet now?" challenged Mallow.

"I don't like it when people doubt me," muttered Shy Guy.

"Fine," sighed Mallow. Suddenly his eyes got a mischievous glint to them, "What about _you_ Monty!" he said, turning on the literal Mole.

"Yeah," muttered Shy Guy growing a bit louder again, "I remember in the bag shooters challenge, you took an _awfully _long time figuring out your clue."

"I have absolutely nothing to say to defend myself," admitted Monty, "I was an idiot and that's all I can say."

Shy Guy said nothing.

Mallow paused, "Grah! I'd love not to believe you…but you're _so_ convincing!"

Monty looked pleased with himself, "Well then, now that we got past the elephant in the room, now we can discuss the rest of the contestants," he paused for a brief moment, "I'm sure the most obvious one to discuss is Wolley."

"Yeah,"

"Of course," muttered Shy Guy.

"Well I've already made clear earlier that I will not limit him to being my only suspicion but I still think he has great potential to be the Mole."

"I disagree," declared Shy Guy.

Mallow gave him a shocked look, "Really! His personality kinda makes him sabotage no matter what!"

"And that's what's wrong!" insisted Shy Guy, "He's _so_ Mole-ish that he can't truly be the Mole!"

"But maybe that's what he wants us to think!" argued Mallow

"Doubt it," huffed Shy Guy, going silent afterwards.

"Okay, okay, whatever. We don't have to agree," said Monty.

"Anybody else in specific we need to discuss?" asked Mallow.

Monty paused, "Naw."

Shy Guy stood up, "Meeting adjourned!"

Meanwhile, yet another group was in a discussion, Toadiko, Timpani and Daisy were in an open plaza sitting on the side of a fountain. They were in an argument, one of them set on a Mole, one of them enraged about a certain player and one set in the middle and not quite happy about it.

"I can't believe that Wolley!" raged Timpani, "He's so rude an inconsiderate!"

"He's not that bad!" defended Toadiko, tired after Timpani's constant ranting.

"Oh really! He's so immature! He's gonna make the Mole steal the entire pot! I bet he is the Mole!"

"WILL YOU JUST CALM DOWN?" screamed Toadiko, getting her strange looks from passerby but she didn't care, "This isn't like you!" she continued, "Is there something else wrong?"

Timpani sighed, "I guess I'm still upset about seeing Jolene go. This game didn't seem like much of a problem until she left, then I realized everybody's gonna have to leave at some point and I'll probably have some sort of connection with them by then and it'll be so bad when they have to leave!" she rambled, tears starting to stream down her face.

Daisy finally stopped listing her reasons for why Monty was the Mole, noticing that nobody was paying attention, just in time to hear Timpani's explanation and see her start to cry. "Wow, I didn't know you felt so bad about it!" she comforted, putting an arm on Timpani's shoulder, "Don't worry, it'll be sad when they go but we'll all get to see each other once this is over!"

"Yeah and we'll be able to get each other's e-mails and phone numbers so we can keep in touch!" added Toadiko.

Timpani stopped crying and looked at the two others, "Yeah, you're right, thanks guys! I overreacted I guess!" she brightened up quite a bit, then looked at Daisy, "And can you please stop talking about how Monty is the Mole? Honestly I don't think he is," she said bluntly.

Daisy had a dumbfounded look on her face, "Uhhhh." Toadiko burst out laughing and gave Timpani a pat on the back.

"Alright! There's the cheery attitude we wanted to see!"

"A little too cheery if you ask me," groaned Daisy.

**{Back at the Hotel-4:00 P.M.}**

"Heeey players!" greeted Gloombadrick as he entered the lobby, "I see all of you have come on time," he paused, "Well all but one. Where's Wolley?" Timpani let out an angry scream. Several players gave her odd looks but they quickly received glares from Toadiko and Daisy.

Gloombadrick coughed, "Well, er…you all know what this means, 1,000 coins from the team pot," he said, growing quieter at the end of the sentence.

**Team Pot**

**51,000 Coins**

**(minus)**

**1,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 50,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 77,000 Coins**

"You're not-a used to giving out bad news are you?" asked Mario.

"Yeah, Anderson has somehow learned not to feel guilty about it," said Gloombadrick, "Anywho, we need to wait until Wolley gets back, I bet he'll be back here soon!"

As it turned out, he wasn't there soon, in fact he didn't show up until ten minutes later when he burst through the door into the lobby. "Oh crap! Sorry I'm late! How late am I?"

"Ten minutes," said Monty.

"Oh, that's not too bad is it?"

"It's long enough," said Timpani coolly.

Wolley sweatdropped, "Er, uh, sorry," he muttered.

_Timpani: Yes, I am upset about the prospect of players leaving but Wolley no matter what just __**bugs**__ me!_

Gloombadrick coughed again to get everybody's attention, "It's time for the first of the Master's challenges!" he announced.

"Yeah!" cheered Wolley and Monty.

"For this challenge, I'm going to need two of you who are great at kart racing." Mario and Daisy's hands immediately shot up. Gloombadrick waited for a moment to see if anybody else would volunteer, finally when he was sure nobody would he said, "Cool, you guys come with me! And for the rest of you," he stopped to turn on one of the TVs in the lobby, "You can watch them on this! Got it? Good."

Gloombadrick led them to a stretch of road at the edge of the city where a fancy grey kart for two people. It was easy to see the large thumbprint logo on the hood of the kart. "Alright, for this challenge you two will be driving across the city!"

"That's it?" asked Daisy.

"Nope, there's a catch!" claimed Gloombadrick.

Mario and Daisy waited, "And that is…"

"Oh, yes, er… you'll be towing one of these!" said Gloombadrick, holding up a bag with a rope tied around the end. He untied it and showed its contents to Mario and Daisy.

"Mini Bob-ombs," muttered Mario.

"Correct!" exclaimed Gloombadrick, "If you drive too recklessly, these will explode!" Mario and Daisy looked disturbed. "Don't worry," said Gloombadrick, "The explosion will be small enough to not do any damage to the kart or you all but it will be large enough for you to notice. You must deliver them all the way across the city to a little shop called The Firebrand Works, if they ever explode during your trip, you must travel all the way back and I will give you another one."

"Hey! Wouldn't this be dangerous to the other drivers on the road?" blurted Daisy.

"We've had all the roads on your course closed off and filled with _professional_ drivers, so everything should be safe. You will have two hours to complete this challenge starting when you first start driving! Do you understand all of this or do I need to repeat myself?"

"Got it!"

"This challenge is worth 8,000 coins," informed Gloombadrick.

"Let's-a go!" cheered Mario.

The players hopped in, Daisy driving and Mario keeping balance in the back seat. Gloombadrick tied the bag of Mini Bob-ombs onto the back bumper, "You're two hours starts…now!" he shouted.

Daisy slammed the accelerator and they took off at an incredible speed. "Daisy! Slow down! We need to be-a careful!"

Daisy let up a bit, "Sorry Mario! I just kinda got in the racing mood!" They drove into the more crowded section of the city and suddenly were surrounded by cars. "Oh boy! We'll never get outta here in this traffic!" groaned Daisy.

"Well these drivers are-a professionals," pointed out Mario, "I don't-a think we have to necessarily drive like-a 'lawful individuals'."

Daisy grinned, "This is gonna get good!"

"Just don't be too-a reckless!" insisted Mario. Daisy just chuckled before swerving into the middle of the road, Mario gripped the edges of the kart, attempting to help keep the kart straight and balanced as Daisy sped along the dividing lines of the road.

All went well until they came upon an overpass and suddenly found a large concrete post in their way. Daisy screamed several choice curse words as she yanked the steering wheel over to the side, barely letting them get around the post and hardly staying off their side (only with the help of Mario's counterbalancing). However, they weren't so lucky when it came to the bag of Mini Bob-ombs and a loud bang signified their failure.

"Mama-mia!" moaned Mario.

"This is a great start," muttered Daisy sarcastically, performing a quick U-turn and heading back.

"Let me-a drive once we get back," demanded Mario.

Daisy shrugged, "Okay, whatever, you're the more careful driver." Once they got back to the start Gloombadrick tied on another bag of Mini Bob-ombs without a word and Mario and Daisy switched places quickly and Mario took off quickly but controlled.

Very quickly the duo got back to the overpass where Mario carefully made his way into the traffic heading in the same direction as them, barely able to get the bag behind them in between the cars safely. They kept on going to a wider, 4 lane overpass (but this time they were on the overpass instead of below it). The overpass was much more open than the streets preceding it, so Mario started to speed up.

Suddenly Daisy shrieked, "Bob-omb Car!" Mario's eyes widened as he looked back to see a deadly Bob-omb-shaped car heading in their direction at a frightening speed. Mario swerved the kart out of the way but unfortunately right into oncoming traffic, including another Bob-omb car! Mario swerved once again, right behind the first Bob-omb car. "This sucks!" blared Daisy.

"Uh, ya think!" snapped Mario, attempting to get passed a large semi-truck. They appeared to be getting towards the end when a sharp turn in the road seemed to come out of nowhere. Mario yelped and attempted to make the turn but was surrounded by other cars and ended up hitting one of them with the bag.

"Dang it!" exclaimed Daisy as Mario turned the kart around.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Whatever, we still have time! Anyways you made it much farther than I did!" supported Daisy.

After what felt like forever, they finally made it back to the same area. Daisy checked the time, "Ten minutes left!" she squealed.

"Let's-a go!" shouted Mario, now prepared to make the turn, made an expert drift around it and used his boost of speed from it to rocket around another car and towards the edge of the crowded section of the city. Once they were outside of the city limits, Daisy was able to spot a lone building in front of a grassy field.

"Mario! The store is coming up on the left!" informed Daisy. Mario nodded and pulled up. A female toad with a bright red (literally red) ponytail was waiting outside for them.

The toad checked her watch, "Are you guys from the Mole?"

"Yup!"

"You two passed your challenge, just barely, but you passed!" announced the Toad.

"Yahoo!"

"Aw yeah! We did it!"

As the toad untied the Mini Bob-ombs from the back of the kart, she asked, "So which players are you?"

"It's-a me-a Mario!"

Daisy paused for a moment, "HI I'M DAISY!" Mario cringed a bit.

**Team Pot**

**51,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**8,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 59,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 85,000 Coins**

**{Hotel Lobby- 8:00 P.M.}**

Dinner had been eaten out at a Mushroom Roadhouse after the karting challenge was completed. Anderson still wasn't back but that wasn't a surprise, so everyone knew to meet up with Gloombadrick just because he was standing in the middle of the lobby, like Anderson would.

"So, you all did good on the first challenge but the Master of Mushroom City has a second one for one of you!"

"Hey! Who is this Master guy anyways? Why is he ordering us around?" demanded Wolley.

"Yeah!" agreed Toadiko, "You've left us in the dark about them!"

"When the time is right, you will know," said Gloombadrick, "But now we need whoever is the best gambler!" Mario, Shy Guy and Mallow raised their hands. "Mario, you've already been in a challenge. I'm sorry, but you can't compete in any more." Mario's hand sunk down.

"Now, which one of you will go?" asked Gloombadrick.

"Well, I uh I'm friends with game guy who owns a casino, we play poker every month," muttered Shy Guy. Gloombadrick looked over to Mallow looking for an explanation.

"I'm a regular at Grate Guy's Casino, regular as in once a week."

Shy Guy put his hand down, "O-okay, you can go."

"Great!" said Gloombadrick, "Mallow, you come with me, the rest of you can watch on the TV like the karting challenge, though I'd advise against watching the whole thing, it may be an all-nighter!"

**{Bowser Jr. Boulevard: Casino}**

"Now why didn't we stay at _this_ hotel?" asked Mallow, "This place is like a 6-star hotel!"

"I dunno," said Gloombadrick, "I'm gonna say price was a factor, this hotel is notorious for ridiculously expensive prices and not to mention we're taking you all around the world, so I guess the producers figured it wasn't worth it and a regular 5-star hotel would be fine," he glanced at the running camera, "Now probably wasn't the best time to discuss it."

The approached the chip counter where the clerk gave Mallow a bag of poker chips, "Sweet!" exclaimed the prince.

"All the chips in that bag add up to a total value of 5,000 coins. Those coins are taken from the Team Pot." Mallow gulped. "I've asked the people at the tables to play at lower stakes to accommodate your coin value. You need to earn 8,000 more coins before sunrise tomorrow morning, if you don't earn 8,000 coins, no money will be earned and if you lose some of the money you already have, it will be taken from the Team Pot."

"Oh boy," sighed Mallow.

"However, if you manage to earn 15,000 coins, only the 8,000 coins will be added to the Pot **but** you'll earn an exemption!"

Mallow's eyes widened, "I'll try my best! I **need** that exemption!"

"You and everyone else…except for the Mole," said Gloombadrick and with that, he left.

**MALLOW'S PROGRESS:**

**SLOT MACHINES:**

Spent: 1,000 coins

Earned: 2,000 coins

Profit: 1,000 coins

Total: 6,000 coins

**ROULETTE:**

Spent: 3,000 coins

Earned: 3,000 coins

Profit: 0 coins

Total: 6,000 coins

**DICE GAME:**

Spent: 0 coins

Earned: 2,000 coins

Profit: 2,000 coins

Total: 8,000 coins

**TEXAS HOLD 'EM:**

Spent: 2,000 coins

Earned: 0 coins

Profit: -2,000 coins

Total: 6,000 coins

**BLACK JACK:**

Spent: 3,000 coins

Earned: 5,000 coins

Profit: 2,000 coins

Total: 8,000 coins

**CHEEP-CHEEP RACES:**

Spent: 3,000 coins

Earned: 6,000 coins

Profit: 3,000 coins

Total: 11,000 coins

**TEXAS HOLD 'EM (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 2,000 coins

Earned: 3,000 coins

Profit: 1,000 coins

Total: 12,000 coins

**ROULETTE (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 1,000 coins

Earned: 2,000 coins

Profit: 1,000 coins

Total: 13,000 coins (Goal Met)

**TIME UNTIL SUNRISE: 3 HOURS**

**CHEEP-CHEEPR RACES (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 4,000 coins

Earned: 8,000 coins

Profit: 4,000 coins

Total: 17,000 coins

**SLOT MACHINES (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 3,000 coins

Earned: 0 coins

Profit: -3,000 coins

Total: 14,000 coins

**DICE GAME (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 1,000 coins

Earned: 2,000 coins

Profit: 1,000 coins

Total: 15,000 coins

**CHEEP-CHEEP RACES (ATTEMPT 3):**

Spent: 3,000 coins

Earned: 0 coins

Profit: -3,000 coins

Total: 12,000 coins

**BLACK JACK (ATTEMPT 2):**

Spent: 2,000 coins

Earned: 4,000 coins

Profit: 2,000 coins

Total: 14,000 coins

**TEXAS HOLE 'EM (ATTEMPT 3):**

Spent: 4,000 coins

Earned: 10,000 coins

Profit: 6,000 coins

Total: 20,000 coins (exemption earned)

**TIME UNTIL SUNRISE: 15 MINUTES**

**CHALLENGE ENDED!**

Mallow groggily turned in his chips to the counter in exchange for what felt like a whole lot less than 20,000 coins but he was thankful for that because he felt like he was about to collapse from tiredness. Gloombadrick retrieved him and drove him back to their hotel. Everyone else had just finished getting up and assembling in the lobby just as the two walked in.

Gloombadrick held up the bag, "Looks like Mallow pulled through!" Everyone cheered. "He not only saved the 5,000 coins from the pot and earned 8,000 more but he also earned an exemption!" announce Gloombadrick, pulling a green card out and handing it to Mallow who sleepily accepted it but it was still visible that he was incredibly happy to get it.

"Two exemptions given out in one episode?" questioned Mona, grasping her own exemption tightly in her pocket.

"Yeah, we do that occasionally," said Gloombadrick.

"How?" asked Timpani.

"Well, as you may have seen if you watched us, Mallow only had to earn 8,000 coins in addition to the 5,000 he started with in order to complete the challenge, however if he instead earned an additional 15,000, then he would also earn an exemption! But before we let him go to bed, I think Mallow deserves a round of applause!"

All of the players except for Mallow clapped, though some less than others out of jealousy and Gloombadrick finally let Mallow go back to his room to sleep.

**Team Pot**

**59,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**8,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 67,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 93,000 Coins**

_Mario: I never would've-a guessed that the little amount of time Mallow and I spent goofing off, finding the casino during our adventure would have paid off in the future!_

"You guys seem to be on a roll!" commented Gloombadrick.

"Told ya' this episode would be a piece of cake!" exclaimed Wolley.

"Now you've jinxed it!" pointed out Timpani.

"Aw crap!"

"I think 'jinxing it' will have nothing to do with it, it's your own skills and the Mole's sabotage that are the deciding factors!" said Gloombadrick.

"And luck!" said Monty.

"Good point! Now I need two more contestants!" announced Gloombadrick, "One who's great at solving mazes and one who's great at solving puzzles."

Shy Guy, Toadiko, Mona and Timpani all raised their hands, however Mona soon lowered hers "I'm not gonna break up the dynamic duo from the Rooftop Run maze!" she said.

Toadiko lowered her hand as well, "Yeah, I think you two will do the best on this."

"Okay, so who will be the maze master and who will take on the puzzles?"

"I'm pretty good with puzzles!" said Timpani, "I think I should do the puzzles!"

Shy Guy shrugged, "I have no problem with mazes, I'll need a bit of luck but I guess it'll be fine…"

"Great, so everybody else, you know the drill, watch on the lobby TV if you want and you two come with me," rambled Gloombadrick.

**{Abandoned Warehouse}**

Gloombadrick led them to an old abandoned warehouse in the middle of town, inside was a large labyrinth very similar to the one in the Rooftop Run mission, though this one was slightly larger. Outside the maze was a large table set up for who-knows-what, though Timpani guessed it was for a puzzle to be put together.

"Welcome to the Maze Game!" said Gloombadrick dramatically, "For this challenge, Shy Guy will venture into this maze and find three bags of puzzle pieces, each bag filled with 55 puzzle pieces. Once he gets all three bags, he will find his way out of the maze and empty them all out onto that table," instructed Gloombadrick, pointing to the table, "There, Timpani will put together a puzzle, once the puzzle is put together, the challenge is completed."

"That doesn't sound too hard!" said Timpani.

"That's because I left out the catches," said Gloombadrick.

"Huh?"

"There's two catches, for one thing, this challenge is timed, you have three hours, which might not be much for navigating a maze and putting together a large puzzle but there are also trick pieces!"

"What! What do you mean?"

"The Mole has put five useless pieces in each bag, so they only really have 55 pieces that you can use! Good luck! You're gonna need it! Your challenge starts in 3…2…1…NOW!"

Shy Guy dashed into the maze and was immediately bombarded with crossroads. Without even being phased, he took one turn, then another and another and so on until he was quickly lost deep in the maze, though that's where he wanted to be.

After a few more turns, dead ends and a little bit of frustration, Shy Guy came upon the first bag in one of the back corners. "Alright!" he cheered happily.

Timpani heard him, "Did you find a bag?" she shouted.

"Uh huh," was the barely heard response.

Shy Guy did some more wandering until he found another bag near the center of the maze. "Another one," he said, barely loud enough for the echoes to reach Timpani. The last bag however proved to be much more of a problem, in fact Shy Guy was wandering around for three quarters of an hour before he finally found it in the most obscure, hard to get at spot in the maze.

"Finally!" he shouted.

"Huh!" screamed Timpani, startled from half-sleep.

"Luck finally stopped failing me!" exclaimed Shy Guy, too happy to be shy. Luck seemed to flow to Shy Guy, letting him breeze out of the maze without a problem and quickly dumped the puzzle pieces out on the table for Timpani.

"You have an hour and 45 minutes to do the puzzle Timpani," informed Gloombadrick.

"This shouldn't be too hard!" exclaimed Timpani. Unfortunately, it was hard, the picture was supposed to be the Mole thumbprint logo, so most of it was black and the rest had mysterious green lines, so Timpani had to try every piece together and by the time the time was up she had laid aside more than the fifteen fake pieces and had only managed to put together half of the puzzle (which was actually quick impressive) but they still failed.

"I'm sorry guys, you failed," said Gloombadrick gloomily.

"Wolley **did** jinx it!" exclaimed Timpani.

"Actually the Mole did," corrected Shy Guy.

"And who's to say he isn't the Mole?"

"Himself? The Mole? I don't really know but don't blame him, we both had trouble with this challenge and that's that!" said Shy Guy, his voice rising motivationally.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

_Timpani: That challenge was a whole lot harder than I expected, Anderson was right when he said this episode would be harder…I hope we see him again soon._

**Team Pot**

**67,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**0 Coins**

**Result:**** 67,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 101,000 Coins**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long but as a cancelation, it was the longest chapter so far. Also I know the format for the gambling challenge was weird but I felt it was the best way to right it and anyways I wouldn't have finished this so soon if I hadn't written it that way. **


	8. A Masterful Execution

_Episode 2 Final Part (4)_

Timpani and Shy Guy slunk into the lobby unhappily, they didn't look up at the other players (well it didn't seem like Shy Guy did). The other players shared their unhappiness but some also harbored suspicions. Oddly enough, Wolley had nothing to say on the matter of their loss.

"I guess our streak is broken," said Mona, breaking the silence as Timpani and Shy Guy sat down.

Wolley finally had a comment, "Maybe I **did** jinx it!"

Timpani looked up at Wolley, "No, we just failed; I was just being hard on you earlier… sorry," she admitted.

"No problem."

Gloombadrick looked confusedly at the players, "Uh…guys? Why the long faces? This is the first time you've been so upset about a loss."

Mallow looked up at Gloombadrick with a childish look on his face, "Are we gonna get to see Anderson again? We failed the Master's challenges didn't we?"

Gloombadrick chuckled, "Of course you'll see him again! The Master of Mushroom City just wants to test you all, you'll still get to see him and Anderson!"

"So we just lost money?" asked Wolley.

"Uh…yeah."

Wolley's face brightened up, "Well in that case…DARN YOU MOOOLE!" he shouted, jumping off of his seat and shaking a fist at the ceiling. That got everybody back in their regular moods and got a laugh out of several contestants.

"Yeah!" shouted Mario, jumping up too, "We're-a gonna get you Mole! And we'll-a get the Master of Mushroom City too!"

Mona got up a fist pumped, "We're not gonna lose! We're gonna get through these challenges and take on that Master guy and get Anderson back!"

Monty got up too, "You know we will!"

"Without a doubt!" yelled Daisy, getting up.

"And the Mole can't do anything to slow us down!" cheered Mallow.

"Cause we're a team!" shouted Toadiko.

"We're an unstoppable one at that!" put in Timpani.

Everyone looked down at Shy Guy, who was the only one still sitting down, "…LET'S GO!" he suddenly shouted enthusiastically, jumping up. Everyone broke into cheers, some of them jumping up and down in excitement.

_Shy Guy: Ah group enthusiasm, it can practically make anybody do anything._

"That's the spirit!" shouted Gloombadrick, "Now who wants to take on the next challenge?" Everyone shouted enthusiastically. "Okay, seriously folks, we need two people who are good cooks."

Everyone calmed down and went back to their seats, "Buzz kill!" shouted Wolley.

"…Ignoring that," said Gloombadrick, "Anybody who can cook?"

"I can!" said Toadiko.

"Well, we need **two** of you and they can only be somebody who hasn't already been in one of the challenges!"

Wolley reluctantly raised his hand, "I-I can."

Daisy burst out laughing, "You cook?"

Wolley sent her a glare, "You do a whole lotta jobs when you work at Peach's Castle!" he shifted his glare towards Mario, "And if wasn't for those giant cakes meant for **you**, I wouldn't have to have learned that!"

Mario gave him a blank look, "I get those because I-a save the Kingdom from a giant, spiky turtle that breathes fire you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Okay you two, come with me! I'll warn you though, this one's gonna last pretty much all day!" right before they left Gloombadrick looked back into the lobby, "You all do whatever until, oh I don't know…5:00 tonight."

**{Spice-Flower Gourmet Kitchen}**

"Good luck guys!" said Gloombadrick as he lead them into the kitchen at the local restaurant, "You'll be meeting a famous cook named Saffron from the town of Flipside, she'll explain the challenge too you," and with that the co-host left without any more instruction.

"Hi there! Are you the cooks from the Mole?" asked a cheery voice. Toadiko and Wolley turned to see a strange woman who seemed to be made up mostly of simple geometric shapes.

"Yep," said Wolley simply.

"Wonderful! I'm Saffron, it's a pleasure to meet you!" said the woman who was apparently Saffron.

"You too! I'm Toadiko!"

"I'm Bond…James Bond." Toadiko gave Wolley a sharp jab with her elbow, "Ow! I was just kidding around!" he turned back to Saffron, "Hey, I'm Wolley Ohtoad, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, now come with me, we have some cooking to do!"

"Yay," muttered Wolley unenthusiastically when the cook was out of earshot.

"Wolley!"

"I never said I **wanted** to do this! I just said I can and we were apparently the only too who know how to cook!" grumbled Wolley.

"Well want to do it or not, we have to do it, so let's get moving after her!" insisted Toadiko.

When Toadiko and Wolley met up with Saffron, she was at a large, fancy cooking station with tons of ingredients out. "Alright kids, you have six hours to make the best meal you can! I'll be helping you, however, I can't physically do anything to make the meal, but I can instruct you!"

"What are we making a meal for anyways?" asked Toadiko.

"We'll be competing against the cook Dyllis from Flopside, she'll be making a meal on her own as well. Once the six hours are up, you'll each bring your dishes out to a professional judge who will eat both and judge who's is best. If yours is the best, then you'll add 8,000 coins to the team pot! However, if hers is better, you will earn nothing. Did you get all that?"

Toadiko and Wolley nodded, "We should make a dessert," suggested Wolley, "Because most of my cooking experience is with cake."

"I bet that'll work real well!" said Saffron cheerily.

Toadiko grabbed a cookbook from the table, "Come look for a recipe with me Wolley!"

"Meh." They looked through the cookbook for quite a while, trying to find a good meal to cook, finally Toadiko found a good cake to start with.

"Hey, this looks good! Why don't we try making a Heartful Cake and put some Dayzee Syrup on it for extra flavor."

Saffron thought about it for a moment, "Sounds scrumptious!"

"Sweet! Let's get started!" exclaimed Toadiko, "Let's see… the first thing we need is... Cake Mix!"

"Got it," obediently replied Wolley, going into what he later described as his "Cooking Mode". He snatched a bag of Cake Mix off the table and plopped it down in front of Toadiko.

"Now we need some milk!"

Wolley dashed over to the magnificent 'fridge and (after a few seconds of searching the massive machine) pulled out a gallon carton of milk. He slammed the milk down on the table without a word.

"And some vanilla extract!" finished Toadiko, followed by Wolley quickly grabbing it. Toadiko put in the specified amount of milk and vanilla and mixed...and mixed...and mixed.

"Err, how long does it say to mix it?" asked Saffron.

"Until it's perfectly creamy," grunted Toadiko. Wolley peaked over at the bowl, it would still take quite a while at the pace Toadiko was mixing at.

"Hey, Toadiko, let me give it a try."

Toadiko reluctantly gave up the mixer, "Okay."

"Do we have any electric mixers?" asked Wolley. Toadiko scanned over the entire room.

"It appears not," sighed Saffron.

Wolley paused for a second, "Okay then, get me an Energy Drink!"

Toadiko's eyes widened in slight fear, "No way! You'll go insane!"

"Do you want to get this done or not?" snapped Wolley. Toadiko sighed and gave in, grabbing a generic brand energy drink out of the fridge.

"Here you go," she said, nervously setting down the drink. Wolley gave a slightly evil laugh before chugging down the neon green liquid.

Saffron appeared horrified, "I've never seen _anybody_ drink _anything_ that fast!"

"Well nobody loves energy drinks as much as Wolley...well maybe Daisy." They glanced over at Wolley, whose eyes seemed to grow gigantic as his body started to tremble.

"Oh my gosh! Is he okay?" exclaimed Saffron.

Suddenly Wolley was bouncing off the walls...literally, he was running at the walls and kicking off them. "ManThat'sPotentStuff!" he slurred.

_Wolley: I looooove caffeine!... Did you notice? _

"Wolley! Focus on what you're supposed to be doing!" shouted Toadiko.

Wolley suddenly skidded to a stop, falling flat on his face. He quickly stood up, "Don'tWorry! I'mCool!" He then turned to the bowl of ingredients and started mixing at a pace easily three times faster than Toadiko's and by some miracle managed to keep everything in the bowl. Within about a minute of mixing, he had gotten the job done much better than anybody could have imagined.

"Alright then! Nice job!" cheered Saffron as Wolley (randomly enough) was chugging water. "Next you all can either add Lovely Chocolate, or Ruin Powder! Ruin Powder is faster to use but doesn't taste as good. It's your choice!"

"I think Wolley saved us enough time that we can make the Lovely Chocolate," commented Toadiko, "What do you think Wolley?"

"YeahThat'llWork!"

"So...how do we make it?" asked Toadiko.

Saffron racked her brain, "You need to cook a Mild Cocoa Bean with a _very_ hot flame, so you need to be very careful!"

Toadiko looked over at Wolley, who was still ridiculously jittery, "I guess _I'll_ do it." She grabbed said Bean off the table of ingredients and placed it on a high heat cooker. As she very carefully turned it on, the machine suddenly threw up a bust of flame out of the top. Toadiko shrieked.

"Are you okay?" asked Saffron, a bit panicked.

"Yeah," said Toadiko, her breaths coming in heavy gasps, "That thing just scared me."

"Glad you're okay!" sighed Saffron, "Oh, and make sure the bean doesn't cook for too long!"

"Got it!" Toadiko looked into the intense flame, watching as the bean started to melt, releasing a brown goo (presumably chocolate). Finally as the whole thing was melted but not quite fallen apart, Toadiko called over Saffron.

"Perfect time! Stop it now!"

Toadiko quickly shut off the burner. She reached over to grab the delicacy but suddenly withdrew her hand when she realized how hot the chocolate probably was. After about ten minutes, Toadiko deemed it safe and grabbed the chocolate.

After chopping it up into very small pieces, she threw them into the bowl. "Wolley!" she called, "I need you to mix this up!" As soon as the request left her mouth, Wolley was at her side.

"I'mReady." Once again, Wolley mixed the contents of the bowl at a ridiculous pace finishing in a longer time than before but still very quickly. "BeRightBack!" he shouted as he started to run out.

"Where are you going?" shouted Toadiko.

"Bathroom!"

Toadiko sighed as she poured the now complete patter into a cake pan, "That Toad is going to seriously screw something up someday." She placed the pan in the oven, "How long do I cook it for?"

"Three hours."

"**WHAT!**" Wolley was back. "You can't be serious!"

"Sadly I am," said Saffron, "And an extra hour to cool."

"No way!"

"Well we'll still have an hour afterward!" defended Toadiko.

Wolley shrugged, "This is gonna be _soooo_ boring!"

"At least you're not bouncing off the walls!"

"_At least!_ If I had known this would take so long, I would've waited to get all that caffeine out of my system!"

**{About Three Hours Later}**

"10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" counted Wolley. Finally the timer went off, "Huzzah!" He quickly threw on some oven mitts and ran to the oven. "Cake time!" he cheered.

"We're not eating it you know," muttered Toadiko, half asleep.

"Yeah but it's done!"

"Now we need to let it cool for an hour."

"..."

"Wolley?"

"DAMMIT!"

**{Another Painfully Boring Hour Later}**

Wolley glanced over at the time, "**YEEEEES!**"

Toadiko jumped up, "Wha? Huh?"

"It's been an hour!" cheered Wolley.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Toadiko, "Now we can make the Dayzee Syrup!"

Wolley perked up, "I actually know how to make that!" Toadiko raised an eyebrow. "No seriously!" he insisted, "You just put Dayzee tears in a blender for a minute!"

Toadiko looked over to Saffron who nodded in approval, "Alright then, go ahead!"

Wolley grabbed a bottle of Dayzee tears and poured it into the blender. A minute later the contents had mysteriously thickened into a syrup.

"I'm not gonna even ask how that works," muttered Toadiko, taking the blender and ever-so carefully poured the syrup over the cake.

"Nice job!" cheered Saffron, "You've made what looks like a successful cake!"

"Yay," muttered Wolley sarcastically. Toadiko elbowed him in the side. "Okay, so we're done, what do we do for the next hour?"

"We could always add toppings to make it even better!" suggested Toadiko.

Wolley shrugged, "Ooookay."

So a large portion of the next hour was spent adding various fruits and sugars to the top and sides of the cake until finally, time was up.

**{The Judging Room}**

Toadiko and Wolley entered a small room, no longer accompanied by Saffron. In the middle of the room was a table at which a Yoshi sat. Standing on one side of the table, facing the duo was a woman who looked just like Saffron but looked angrier and had a darker color scheme.

In front of her sat an amazing looking meal. "We've lost," groaned Wolley.

"Don't say that yet!" muttered Toadiko.

As they set down their desert, the woman started speaking to them, "Hello. I am know as vee Master Chef Dyllis! Und you are?" she asked in a thick German accent.

"I-I'm Toadiko," said Toadiko, taken aback by the sternness of the cook's voice compared to Saffron.

"I'm Bon- I mean I'm Wolley Ohtoad...nice to meet you."

The Yoshi spoke up, "Hello to all of you! I am Yo'ster. I'm a culinary expert and I'll be judging your food." He looked over at each dish, "Let us see... It appears you two have made a Heartful Cake with Dayzee Syrup as the main icing am I correct?"

"Yes sir."

He looked at Dyllis, "And of course I recognize your dish. You've made the Dyllis Special."

Dyllis nodded, "You vould be correct!"

"Great. I will now begin to taste and judge each of your dishes, this may take a little while."

Indeed it did take a while, Yo'ster took the time to carefully taste each part of each dish eating them in very small bites unlike most Yoshis who would eat an entire meal at once. Once he had finished eating both, he took a minute or so to weigh each against each other.

"I've come to a conclusion!" he finally announced. Everyone listened eagerly. "It was actually a tough decision, but I've determined the best dish was made by... Dyllis!"

"DAMMIT!" groaned Wolley.

"Haha!" cheered Dyllis triumphantly, "Vou cannot beat vee Master Chef!"

About that time, Gloombadrick walked in, looking over the scene, he said, "I can see you two lost."

He was met with a venomous glare from Wolley.

"Whoa! Chill out Wolley!"

"So much cooking! So much boredom! All for nothing!" he cried.

"I got a good meal!" put in Yo'ster.

"..."

"I was just saying..."

"Well, no matter how much cooking you did, you still failed the challenge, let's head back to the hotel," muttered Gloombadrick.

**Team Pot**

**67,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**0 Coins**

**Result:**** 67,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 109,000 Coins**

_Toadiko: It was disappointing that we lost but Wolley was being a __**little**__ over-dramatic._

The rest of the day was uneventful. The players had dinner out at a fancy restaurant across town where Gloombadrick informed them that the Master was considering seeing them soon but he wasn't sure when, much to the displeasure of everyone. The next day was pretty uneventful as well until around 5:00.

"Mona! Monty! I need you two immediately," Gloombadrick announced throughout the hotel's hallway. Everyone emerged from their rooms but only the two approached the co-host.

"Whatchya need?" asked Mona.

"Have we done something wrong?" asked Monty, "Cause I haven't done a thing!"

"No, you're not in trouble," clarified Gloombadrick, "You two are the only ones who haven't been in one of the Master's challenges so far, so you're up. I hope you're good at math!"

"I'm pretty good at it," said Mona.

"..."

"What about you Monty?"

"Kinda... I was good at math up until High School," muttered Monty.

"Oh boy."

They were lead to a fountain in the middle of an open and empty plaza, the fountain was surprisingly devoid of coins. Little did they know that fact was important.

"Welcome to your next challenge!" said Gloombadrick.

Suddenly they noticed the large piles of coins sitting in front of the fountain.

"Wow!" exclaimed Monty, "That's a whole lot of money!"

"My Wario senses are tingling!" joked Mona.

"Let's get going!" said Gloombadrick, "This challenge will be split up into four parts, each worth 2,000 coins. For each part you'll need to throw a certain amount of coins into the fountain to reach a certain value. You'll have fifteen minutes to figure out each problem and throw the coins in."

"That doesn't sound too bad!" cheered Mona.

"But there's one little complication," warned Gloombadrick, "As soon as you touch a coin, you _must_ throw it into the fountain."

"That's a bit inconvenient," sighed Monty.

"So we'll be doing all the math in our heads," pointed out Mona.

"Can we see what coins we're using before we start?" asked Monty.

"Real quickly," confirmed Gloombadrick.

"Let's see... We have the Golds worth 1, the Reds worth 2, the Blues worth 5, Bigs worth 10, Frogs worth 25, Purples worth 50 and Silvers worth 100." muttered Monty.

"Uh Monty," said Mona, "I'm pretty sure we all know that."

"I know!" snapped Monty, "But this helps me think a bit more clearly."

"Okay, ready guys?" asked Gloombadrick.

"Yep!"

"As I'll ever be."

"Awesome. So for your first part, you need to throw 21 coins into the fountain that add up to a value of 335 coins. You can only use the Blue coins, Big coins and Frog Coins and you must use at least one of each. Your time starts... now!"

The next ten minutes were spent in deep though until Mona finally rang out, "I got it!"

"What!" cried Monty, who was stumped, "How?"

Mona shrugged, "I dunno."

She went over to the piles of coins and picked out two big coins and tossed them into the fountain, "2 Big," she muttered. She then tossed eight blue coins into the fountain, "8 Blue." And finally eleven Frog Coins were thrown in, "And that's it!"

Gloombadrick went over to inspect the pile of coins thrown in, "Yep, that's right!"

"Yahoo!" cheered Mona.

"Next problem!" announced Gloombadrick, as the coins were cleaned out of the fountain. "You need to throw 29 coins into the fountain that add up to a value of 776 coins. You'll be able to use Gold Coins, Blue Coins, Frog Coins and Silver coins. Ready... go!"

However, this time didn't go nearly as well, after 13 and a half minutes Gloombadrick announced, "A minute and a half left! You need to throw in your coins now or you might not make it in time!"

"No," groaned Mona and Monty. Mona started tossing in coins with a pretty good idea of what she was doing, but didn't quite make it.

"Three coins too many!" confessed the co-host, "If you had used a Silver coin instead of four of the Frog coins then you would have made it.

"Darn it!" grumbled Mona.

The next two parts of the challenge went almost exactly the same way leaving the two contestants with mostly a loss for the challenge.

"At least you guys still earned a bit of money!" concluded Gloombadrick, "2,000 coins will be added to the team pot!"

**Team Pot**

**67,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**2,000 Coins**

**Result:**** 69,000 Coins**

**Possible:**** 117,000 Coins**

Dinner was eaten at one of the hotel's restaurants right after the challenge was finished. That was when Gloombadrick made the big announcement, "Everyone! I have big news! Listen up!" Immediately the chatter ceased and everyone looked to the head of the table, "The Master of Mushroom City is ready to see you tonight!"

"Yes!" cheered Daisy.

"Anyways," continued Gloombadrick, "After dinner you will go and meet him. He's been mildly impressed by your performance in his challenges."

After the exciting news, everyone ate their dinner as fast as they could, though they still had to wait for Gloombadrick (who was eating at a normal pace) to finish. Finally after enough shouts and glares, the co-host sped up and finished his meal.

"Okay, we're ready."

They were led to the tallest building in the city: The Shroom Needle. Gloombadrick took them (in multiple trips) up the elevator to the 13th floor where they all waited in a cramped office until finally, a door mysteriously opened.

"The Master is ready," said Gloombadrick. All the players rushed into the next room which was just a large, empty, dimly lit, storage room. The only thing that occupied the floor was a random stair case.

And an old Toad dressed in red robes.

"Welcome," he croaked. Mario's eyes widened in fear and realization, however nobody else had the same feeling.

"_You're_ the Master of Mushroom City?" cried Timpani.

"You're just an old Toad!" grumbled Shy Guy.

"Yeah! Who do you think you are anyways?" challenged Wolley.

"The Master," answered Mario.

"Well yeah, we know that but-"

"No!" interrupted Mario, "That's who he is! He's the Master of the Dojo in Toad Town and one of the best fighters in the world!"

A mischievous glint appeared in The Master's eye, "That's right!" he boomed in a powerful voice, whipping off his red robes to reveal golden colored ones. He stood up straight from his hunch that was hidden in his red robes, gaining half a foot in height, suddenly he looked like a very formidable foe.

"Oh. My. Gosh." gasped Mallow.

"I heard your whole group rally," he revealed, "It was quite hilarious!"

"What?" shrieked Timpani, red faced with embarrassment and anger, "What's so funny?"

"You fools were getting so hyped up about saving your precious host but it was completely unnecessary!"

"Why?" asked Monty.

"Because I didn't need saving at all!" said Anderson, emerging from a shadowy corner. A collective gasp rose up from about half of the players. "Honestly I'm touched that you all cared so much but I'm not quite sure why you thought I needed to be saved."

Wolley gave a sheepish grin, "Uhhh,"

"Anyways it's the missing bags you should be worried about!" Mallow, Mario and Monty suddenly tensed. "We're going to have a challenge to earn back your bags, if you win, you three will get them back now, if you fail, you'll have to wait until next episode's execution. I'll leave the rest of the explanation to The Master!" announced Anderson.

The Master chuckled, "In this challenge, we'll be fighting!" Everyone nervously took a slight step back. "Your goal is for one of you to stand on top of those stairs," he said, pointing to said stairs behind him, "Once you do, the challenge is over."

"Where's the fighting?" asked Daisy.

"That's what I was getting to. My goal is to stop you at all costs! If I can get you down on both knees then you're out!" He grinned, "Let's begin!"

Suddenly the Master was met with the sight of nine contestants charging straight at him, "This may actually be a bit of a challenge," he chuckled. He grabbed Daisy and threw her out of the way, she managed to catch herself with her hands though.

"Jeez!"

Timpani tried to jump around him but he landed a soft kick on the back of her knee, making her tumble to the ground. Wolley was brave (or foolish) enough to try to land a punch on The Master but his fist was intercepted, he was grabbed. The Master held onto the younger Toad as he shoved Monty away, then he threw Wolley onto him.

"Nooo!" shouted Monty.

Daisy was finally thrown to the ground, Mallow was pushed away, Toadiko was thrown to the ground.

"This is no way to treat a lady!" she yelled.

"That's the way to treat an opponent," retorted The Master.

Mona was actually somewhat successful, as The Master tried to push her down, she grabbed his wrists and kneed him in the stomach, giving Mario and Shy Guy the time to get around. But the Master wouldn't be stopped, he kicked Mona in the stomach, knocked Mario and Shy Guy off the stairs. Mario landed on his feet, Shy Guy landed on his knees.

"Mama-Mia! groaned Mario.

Mona ended up falling after the kick, Mallow was pushed to the ground. Only Mario remained. Suddenly, The Master charged, Mario jumped out of the way and dashed for the stairs. The Master threw a punch which Mario barely avoided as he hopped onto the steps, his superior jumping ability giving him an advantage of getting onto the steps.

"Wahoo!" cheered the plumber as he set both feet on the top step, "I'm-a the winner!"

"Congratulations Mario, you've beaten me... again," he turned to the other players, "I didn't hurt you all too bad did I?"

Mona sat up, "Nope! I'm good!"

"I'm fine," muttered Shy Guy.

"So much pain!" groaned Wolley.

"You think _you're _in pain!" snapped Monty, "You're _on top_ of me!"

Wolley rolled off, "Okay, I think I'm fine."

Monty groaned, "I'm not... but I will be in a minute."

The Master gave a sheepish grin, "I may have gone a bit overboard."

True to his word, Monty got up in a minute, "At least I get my bag now!"

"Speaking of which, they're in here," said Anderson, opening a door where not just those three bags were seen, but all of them.

"Hmm that's weird," muttered Timpani as they all walked in. Wolley was the only one who happened to look to the right as he entered though.

"No! Stop!" he shouted, "It's a trap!" But it was too late, Anderson entered and shut the door behind him.

Anderson laughed evilly as he walked over to the TV with the green thumbprint on it, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to your second execution!"

Everyone gasped, Timpani the loudest.

"Like last time, you will each go out into the room with the stairs and take a quiz on the identity of the Mole. The lowest scorer must leave immediately. Of course, the Mole knows the answers... do you? I wish you luck," said Anderson.

**Execution Quiz #2**

**#1-What is the Mole's Job?**

**-Plumber/Adventurer **

**-Royal Assistant **

**-Politician/Pro. Tennis Player **

**-Game Designer/ Cook**

**-Psychologist**

**-Weatherman/Politician **

**-Actor**

**-Scholar **

**-Miner**

_Daisy: Could Monty be the Mole? I think so, it'd just feel weird if he wasn't!_

**#2-In what order did the Mole arrive at the 3****rd**** floor in the Rooftop Run?**

**-First**

**-Second**

**-Third**

**-Fourth**

**-Fifth**

**-Sixth**

**-Seventh**

**-Eight**

**-The Mole was answering the questions**

_Toadiko: Somebody did something to screw up Rooftop and it wasn't me! But then who was it?..._

**#3-What did the Mole do with their box on the train?**

**-Look in it and tell the truth**

**-Look in it and lie**

**-The Mole did not look in their box**

**#4-When did the Mole earn an exemption this episode?**

**-On the train**

**-In a challenge**

**-The Mole did not earn an exemption this episode**

_Wolley: That mole is a sly one! I've said this game is easy... but I'll admit I'm still stumped on who the Mole is... It could easily be me!_

**#4-Which one of the Master's challenges did the Mole compete in?**

**-The Kart Challenge **

**-The Gambling Challenge **

**-The Maze Challenge**

**-The Cooking Challenge**

**-The Coin Challenge**

_Mario: I have a feeling the Mole is-a solely responsible for the screwing-a up of at least one challenge!_

**#5-Did the Mole win their Master Challenge?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#6-Where did the Mole go after Anderson disappeared?**

**-A city Park**

**-The Hotel Roof**

**-An open Plaza**

**-An Amusement Park**

_Monty: This question was ridiculous! I hardly knew where anybody else was during that time!... I guess I could have asked._

_Timpani: So __**that's**__ where Wolley was! He could definitely be the Mole!_

**#7-What species is the Mole?**

**-Human**

**-Toad**

**-Nimbian**

**-Shy Guy**

**-Monty Mole**

**#8-Is the Mole Male or Female?**

**-Male**

**-Female**

**#9-What Month was the Mole born in?**

**-January**

**-March**

**-April**

**-May**

**-June**

**-July**

**-August **

**-September**

_Mallow: And then we get to the hardest question of all: Who is the Mole? Could it be Shy Guy? Could it be Toadiko? Yeah, it could but what we need to know is not could but __**is**__! And that's why this question is so troubling!_

**#10-WHO IS THE MOLE?**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Mona Martin **

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Monty Mole**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Daisy Sarasa**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

"I will enter your names into the computer, one at a time, if a green thumbprint shows up, you are safe, if the thumbprint is red, you are the Mole's second victim," explained Anderson. "Mona, Mallow, since you two have exemptions, I'll put your names in first."

The two safe players handed Anderson their Exemptions with bittersweet grins knowing that even though they were safe, one of their friends would have to go home.

M

O

N

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

Exempted

M

A

L

L

O

W

.

.

.

.

Exempted

"Mario"

M

A

R

I

O

.

.

.

.

.

Green

"Thank-a the Stars," breathed the plumber.

"Shy Guy"

S

H

Y

G

U

Y

.

.

.

Green

Shy Guy passed a bittersweet glance around the room.

"Wolley"

W

O

L

L

E

Y

.

.

.

.

Green

"Hooray!"

"Monty"

M

O

N

T

Y

.

.

.

.

.

Red

"Aw shucks!" muttered the literal Mole.

"Sorry Monty," said Anderson, "You are the Mole's second victim. I guess this really was a tale of two Moles."

"Darn!" groaned Daisy, "You were my prime suspect!"

"I hope you're good at hopping from one Mole to another," said Monty honestly. Monty grabbed his bag and the killer gave it's victim one last look of pity before one Mole left, leaving another to take down the rest.

"He was wise," said Anderson sadly, "But perhaps not wise enough, for the Mole got to him before he could get to it. But he is only the second of many, be prepared for anything and everything!" advised the host before walking out to give a few last words to the departing player.

. . .

Up on the roof of the 'Shroom Needle, Anderson was wrapping the episode up with Monty. "You were a wise player," said Anderson, "I'm sure you realized that this game can be quite fun."

"That I have!" said Monty.

"Do you have a favorite experience?"

"I just loved to be with so many interesting and diverse beings," admitted Monty, "The life of a Mole can be lonely sometimes and it was good to get a break from it all!"

"And one last question."

"Sure, ask me anything!"

"Do you think luck still plays a part in the game?" asked Anderson.

"Of course!" said Monty, "I don't think we'd be in this situation if it wasn't involved, but luck will play less and less of a part as the game goes on!"

"There you have it folks!" Anderson said to the camera, "Words of wisdom from a departing player! And as he said luck will play less of a part as we go on and the players will have to start becoming even more keen. What does the Mole have in store for them? Find out next time on: The Mole: Fiends Burrow!" goodnight everybody!"

"Bye!" added Monty as the screen faded to black.

**. . .**

**A/N: Monty's gone now? Bet you didn't see that coming! In fact I know you didn't because I originally planned for Monty to win the entire game... but plans change! **

**Wow! A fourth of the way through already! Well... already is a bit of a stretch I'll admit considering it takes me an eternity and a half to update... sorry about that folks! But in my defense this is another long chapter so...yeah... See you guys next time! **


	9. Aloft in the Foothills

_**A\N: Yeah, I know this is way too late, but… it's here! Anyways, I'm changing the rating to T to give myself a little leeway on the language used…so yeah.**_

_Episode 3 Part 1_

_The Players' luck has been bittersweet. They win a few, lose a few, no doubt because of the Mole. Now one Mole has left the crew, leaving them with another one who is much more dangerous. The Players move on with their chins held high or their heads hung low with one question stuck in their heads:_

_Who is the Mole?_

_**Wolley**_

_Last__Name:__Ohtoad_

_Birthday:__December__19_

_Job:__Royal__Assistant_

_**Mona**_

_Last__Name:__Martin_

_Birthday:__August__16_

_Job:__Game__Designer/__Cook_

_**Daisy**_

_Last__Name:__Sarasa_

_Birthday:__June__2_

_Job:__Politician/Pro__Tennis__Player_

_**Mallow**_

_Last__Name:__Nimbus_

_Birthday:__April__24_

_Job:__Weatherman/Politician_

_**Shy**__**Guy**_

_Last__Name:__Maskio_

_Birthday:__July__5_

_Job:__Actor_

_**Timpani**_

_Last__Name:__Bleck_

_Birthday:__March__4_

_Job:__Psychologist_

_**Mario**_

_Last__Name:__Mario_

_Birthday:__May__22_

_Job:__Plumber/Adventurer_

_**Toadiko**_

_Last__Name:__Shroomose_

_Birthday:__September__8_

_Job:__Scholar_

_Shy__Guy:__Monty's __departure __was __a __damaging __blow __to __the __game. __He __often __was __the __voice __of __reason... and __sometimes __humor...__I __miss __him._

_Daisy:__I'm __screwed! __Monty __was __my __number __one __suspect! __It __was __a __miracle __**I **__wasn't __executed!_

"Ah, clean clothes!" sighed Mallow happily, "I was definitely taking that luxury for granted until I lost my bag!"

"I wasn't exactly taking them for-a granted, but it-a feels great!" commented Mario as he walked into the hotel's lobby.

"I'm surprised you even got them back," mumbled Mona sleepily giving a huge yawn, "I clearly saw the Piranha Plants eat them."

Mallow shrugged, "I honestly don't care _how_ we got them back, I'm just glad we did!"

"What's all the yapping about?" groaned Wolley, rubbing his eyes as he finally made it into the lobby.

"They're happy about getting their bags back!" said Toadiko cheerily, scooting over as Wolley flopped down next to her.

"Great," he muttered sarcastically.

Mallow scowled at him. "Give him a break," defended Toadiko, "He's just tired!"

"Any energy drinks here?" mumbled Wolley, "Shroom Shake preferably."

"Nah, but we got coffee," replied Mona, pouring herself a mug.

"What kind?"

"Black."

"Works for me," muttered Wolley, shrugging.

"Hey, where's Daisy?" asked Timpani, noticing the princess was the only one absent from the group.

"Asleep probably," said Mona, "She's less of a morning person than even _me_."

Suddenly, Daisy herself walked into the lobby. She was a mess, her hair was sticking out every which way, she hadn't bothered to put on make-up and she was wearing mismatching _everything_. She had _clearly_ just gotten up. "I'm gonna kill Anderson for making us get up this early," she growled.

"My, my! Somebody hates mornings!" said Anderson walking in. Daisy replied by literally growling at him.

"Always the perfect timings," muttered Mallow.

"Let's go folks!" shouted Anderson, surprising everybody into awake-ness, "I'm getting rather cramped in this place, so we're heading off to a new location!"

"Alright! Let's-a go!" cheered Mario.

Several hours later, a large plane started its decent towards a large island, the airplane touching down in a grubby airport in an even grubbier city.

"Rougeport?" gasped Mario.

"You're trading Mushroom City for...for this!" questioned Toadiko.

"This isn't quite our destination," admitted Anderson, shrugging, "We're going to one of the surrounding areas."

"Which one?" asked Mario.

"Ah, I forgot you are familiar with these parts, well... it's a secret."

"Can we just get going then?" groaned Wolley, one foot already off the ground in preparation for a step.

"Of course!"

The crew of eight (plus Anderson) traveled through the dirty city, eventually reaching the northeast corner, where they came to a break in the stony walls around the city, a path that gradually grew more grassy and less dirty.

"Alright, it's time you all know where we're going!" announced Anderson.

"That wasn't a secret for very long," Mallow pointed out.

"Of course it was!" argued Anderson with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Anyways! We are heading to Petal Meadows!"

"Sounds-a great!" cheered Mario.

"Sounds pretty tranquil," commented Shy Guy.

"However," continued Anderson, "We won't get there for quite a bit. In fact, we're going to be spending the night in the Petal Foothills."

"Camping?" questioned Timpani.

Daisy grinned, "Camping would be awesome!" Timpani just shook her head in disagreement.

"So we're hiking first?" asked Wolley.

"But of course!" said Anderson, grinning.

Wolley, Mallow, Shy Guy, and Toadiko all groaned, since they all suffered from short or –to be more accurate- no legs. "Jackass," snapped Wolley. Nobody decided to question his resentment towards the host.

"Being the host of a show like this requires one to have at least a little Jackassery," defended the accused Blooper, pulling down his beanie ever-so slightly.

"Well, might as well get started," said Mona.

"Yeah! Let's-a go!" cheered Mario, leaping up onto a ledge his height.

"Uh, Mario?"

"Yeah Daisy?" replied the plumber, turning around to see the rest of the group back where they started.

"We can't jump up there."

Mario paled a little bit, realizing how long the journey would take with a group full of beings without his jumping capabilities. "Mama-mia!"

The ground was hard and while grass was growing, there was a large amount of rock to be seen. Many of the rises in elevation were met with the scars of old Monty Mole burrows. Some took this to be a sign of the eminent danger lurking within their group, while others took them as a reminder of the contestant that had just left them, and one of them (in particular: the currently apathetic Wolley) didn't really care.

"I wish Wario was here," sighed Mona, "He'd be a great ally to have." Mario snorted. "What?" asked Mona.

"In case you-a haven't noticed, your boss and I-a have a long-time rivalry," said the plumber matter-of-factly.

"He _is_ a bit of a slob," added Daisy.

"_Excuse__me!_" demanded Mona, "You shouldn't be talking about him like that!"

_Daisy:__Somebody __is __getting __defensive._

_Mona:__What __do __these __people __have __against __Wario! __He__'__s __a __great __guy!_

"Will you three just shut up!" snapped Wolley, "We all know about Wario! He's a fat jerk who can be occasionally be referred to as a badass and that's just who he is." Mario was about to speak up when Wolley continued, "Yeah and he harbors several mutual grudges with Mario, but can't we just accept all of that? This is the Mushroom Kingdom for Star's sake! We're the most diverse nation in the universe, so yeah, we've got plenty of guys who know how to piss us off, but we should embrace it! We need to be glad we've got people like that instead of being stuck somewhere where everyone is the same and it drives you so crazy you'd like to get a game over!"

Everyone stopped and stared at the now panting Toad. "Wow Wolley," breathed Toadiko, "That was…"

"Inspirational," offered Mallow.

"Unexpected," said Timpani.

"Kind of (very) awesome," muttered Shy Guy.

"I think we should all think about that," said Wolley.

"Moving," said Anderson, "Great cover for making the Mole seem more human," that got him a glare, "Let's be on our way shall we?"

The group ended up walking all day (with the exception of lunch, "bathroom", and rest breaks), but finally night fell, Anderson announced they would be setting up camp. Camp was set up in a lush, green hill that was ten or so miles outside Petal Meadows. Not far off were several farms that the locals managed, the one nearest was made up mostly of corn.

Four tents were set up, Mario and Wolley were put in one, Shy Guy and Mallow in another, Mona and Daisy in the third, and Timpani and Toadiko in the last. "And you're probably going to sleep in some luxury hotel," Wolley accused Anderson.

Anderson grinned, "Perhaps, but I wouldn't want to be _too_ far away from you guys," he paused, taking in the contestants expressions before adding, "I wouldn't want to leave you in case the Mole gets you in your sleep."

"W-w-w-what!" stammered Toadiko.

Anderson chuckled, "Don't worry, the Mole doesn't want to kill you, just get you executed… well in our figurative way of course."

Everyone then sat down and chilled out, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire (Mallow cringed a bit watching the puffy, white substance burn). Then everybody played cards, the Mole didn't gain or lose much money, the Mole's next victim lost a fair amount of coins, and the eventual winner of the game had quite a bit of luck.

Ironically telling isn't it?

After a few hours, as the last few embers in the fire were starting to die out, everyone was sound asleep in their tents. Then came the scream and the figure running off into the distance.

Everyone crowded around the fourth tent, looking worriedly at Toadiko as she sat, pale, drenched in cold sweat, and panting. "Somebody… somebody was in here!" she breathed.

"It's like the Mole got her in her sleep," concluded Timpani.

"W-wait," murmured Toadiko suspiciously, "Where's Mallow?"

"Right here!" piped Mallow, pushing his way between Mario and Daisy.

Toadiko breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, so it wasn't one of us."

Daisy straightened up and glanced around, "Then who-?"

"What in the world is going on?" asked Anderson, walking onto the scene. Everybody screamed, the host raised his eyebrows.

"Toadiko says somebody was in our tent," explained Timpani.

"Well that's not good!" said Anderson perhaps a bit _too_ innocently. Shy Guy, the only one to catch on to this, sent him a look, to which he received a sly wink.

"Nice," he sighed sarcastically.

"Anyways, I guess that scare came with good timing, because we've got a challenge!" announced Anderson

"In the middle of the night?" groaned Daisy.

"Well darkness is necessary for the challenge," explained Anderson.

"But _this_ late at night?"

"Yes."

"…"

"…"

"Dammit."

"You're problem, not mine."

"You've got to be up for this to," replied Mallow. Daisy grinned smugly.

"Coffee," Anderson said simply, thus making Daisy's face return to a scowl.

"Can we just go on to the challenge!" snapped Mona, looking about as tired as Daisy.

"Of course, but first you all each need to find a partner who you communicate well with," said Anderson. Everyone soon was in a flurry of conversation, deciding who was better with whom and the groups ended up like this:

_Mona__&__Daisy_

_Wolley__&__Mario_

_Mallow__&__Timpani_

_Shy__Guy__&__Toadiko_

Once the groups were settled, Anderson led them to a nearby cornfield where, much to the dismay of some, there was a clear opening to a corn maze. "This is a classic rendition of the _Nighttime__Maze_ challenge," announced Anderson.

Mario grinned a bit, "So it's-a _this_ challenge!"

Anderson nodded in confirmation, "For this challenge, your teams will be divided up; one member will be going through the cornfield maze, attempting to avoid two hunters after them. The other member will have an overhead view of the maze, where they will be able to see their partner's location and navigate them via headset, so, choose which role you will have, you have 30 seconds."

It was instantly agreed that Shy Guy and Timpani would be going into the maze, due to their superior maze navigation shown last episode. The other two groups took a bit more discussion however.

"I should go!" insisted Wolley, "I'm so hard to catch!"

"But I'm-a faster than you!" argued Mario, "And you've got to be observant, working at Peach's Castle and all."

Since their time was nearly up, Wolley reluctantly accepted defeat, "Alright, you can go… I guess."

Meanwhile, Daisy and Mona were arguing over which one of them would go in, since neither had a significant advantage over the other, but by the end of the thirty seconds, it was concluded that Daisy would enter the maze because she was just a _little_ bit faster than Mona.

"Great!" said Anderson, he handed each contestant a headset, directed the navigators over to their monitors and the runners to the entrance to the maze. "Remember, your goal is to make your way through the corn maze. Any successful player earns 2,500 coins for the team pot. You are successful if you make it out of the maze within 30 minutes without being tagged by a hunter. Have I made myself clear?"

"Totally!"

"Yep."

"Yes you did."

"Oh yeah!"

"Alright! You may begin in 3… 2… 1… GO!" With that, Timpani, Daisy, Shy Guy, and Mario took off into the maze.

**{Meanwhile}**

Right about the time Anderson was beginning to reveal the challenge to the players, Gloombadrick was meeting on the other side of the corn maze with a Koopa in sunglasses and a Hyper Paragoomba.

"So here's the rundown of your mission," began the co-host, "Basically, your goal is to track down and tag the four contestants before they make it out of the maze, or at least keep them occupied for 30 minutes. Any questions?"

"Nope," said the Koopa.

"This will be no problem!" bellowed the Hyper Paragoomba.

One of the crew members muttered something to Gloombadrick, "Sweet, it's your time to shine!"

The Hyper Paragoomba chuckled, "Ready to go comrade?"

The Koopa nodded, "Let's go!"

**{Corn****Maze}**

Timpani, Daisy, Shy Guy, and Mario immediately tore into the maze. They instantly came upon several forks in the road, so to speak, and the group split up without any sort of discussion, each acting on instinct. Normally, Timpani would of tried to take a guiding role, but with the unknown size of the maze and the known threat of the hunters, it was perhaps better to go everyone for themselves.

Wolley's voice crackled in Mario's headset, "Mario! Do you read me?"

"Loud and-a clear!" replied Mario.

"Great!" cheered Wolley, "Now turn back."

"What!" questioned Mario, stopping in his tracks, "Why?"

"I can see an overhead view," reminded Wolley, "And you're only heading for dead ends."

"Thank you," replied the plumber, turning back.

"No prob. There are multiple routes leading to the exit," explained Wolley, "So I'll let you rely mostly on instinct, but tell you if you're off path or if a hunter's coming, got it?"

"Yep."

"Sweet, over and out!"

In another part of the maze, Shy Guy was making a steady pace. "How am I doing?" he asked into the headset.

"Perfectly fine from what I can see," replied Toadiko's voice, "Though the maze is pretty confusing, even from above, so I may be wrong. Also, the hunters haven't reached any areas near you yet, so you should be well off."

Shy Guy grinned and moved a little bit faster, "Thanks Toadiko."

"Happy to help!"

Around the same time, Mallow was carefully guiding Timpani through the maze in an attempt to get her by the area where one of the hunters (the Koopa) was patrolling.

"Okay, when you reach the next crossroads, take a right!" whispered Mallow, Timpani silently obeyed, putting more distance between her and the hunter. "Next, take a left… Good, now keep trying to head in the direction you're going now, but the other hunter is lurking up ahead, so I'll need to guide you soon, okay?"

"Affirmative."

Suddenly, a shout rang out as Daisy started running as fast as she could, the Koopa had spotted her and was in hot pursuit. "Why didn't you tell me to get out of there!" huffed the princess into the headset.

"I was about to!" defended Mona, "But the hunter made a surprise turn!"

"So how do I get away?"

"Just make as many turns as possible, but try not to accidentally turn back!"

Timpani quickly jumped behind a row of corn to avoid being seen by the Hyper Paragoomba, who was rushing to where he heard Daisy. "Mallow!" breathed Timpani.

"Yeah?"

"The second hunter is heading Daisy's way! Can you tell Mona?"

Mallow sighed, "Sorry, we're in separate areas. Hopefully Mona will notice though right?"

"Yeah, she probably will."

"Will what?" asked a deep voice. Timpani's blood turned cold as she turned to face the Hyper Paragoomba (who must have heard her talking to Mallow), a mere twenty feet away.

"Yikes!" shrieked Timpani, dashing away as fast as she could.

"What's going on?" asked Mallow.

"One of the hunters, some sort of Paragoomba, found me! Why didn't you let me know!"

"Sorry!" cried Mallow, "I was distracted since you were talking to me and since we were talking about Daisy, I was glancing at her area!"

"Well, just hope I can make it out of here!" grunted Timpani. She ran as fast as she could, taking as many turns as possible, but she was starting to tire and the Hyper Paragoomba was still keeping pace. Within just about a minute, she was caught and drearily removed from the corn maze.

Daisy had been running for quite some time, but unlike Timpani, she wasn't running out of stamina and she was slowly, but surely losing the hunter.

"Daisy!" Mona's voice came into the headset, "Timpani's been caught!"

"Crap!" muttered Daisy.

"Now the hunter that was after her seems to be heading your way, try to take paths in areas to the left of you!"

"Got it!"

As the Hyper Paragoomba flew closer and closer to Daisy, Shy Guy was darting across crossroads, not too far away. In fact, he caught a glimpse of the determined hunter as he tip-toed his way behind a patch of corn. He snickered to himself. "This will be easy, just got to get out of here before they come back." After that little announcement, he started to run off, taking directions from Toadiko, and as the situation became more risky with Daisy and Mario had yet to run into any situations, he made it out.

"Congratulations Shy Guy, you're the first contestant to make it out of the maze!" greeted Anderson.

"Cool," was Shy Guy's response.

"2,500 coins will be awarded to the team pot," said Anderson, "And it's now down to Mario and Daisy. Will they make it?"

"I dunno. Why are you asking me?"

"I wasn't," grumbled Anderson.

"Then who-?"

"…"

"Oh," said Shy Guy in realization.

Back in the corn maze, Daisy was running as fast as she could, now evading _both_ hunters. But she was finally starting to tire and her pursuers were getting closer and closer. Finally, just as she was about to make an escape, the Hyper Paragoomba jumped out from behind a corner and got her.

"Crap!" fumed Daisy as she was led away.

A murmuring emitted from the hunters' headsets, "So the Shy Guy has made it eh?" said the Hyper Paragoomba.

"So I guess our last opponent is "Super" Mario!" snickered the Koopa, "Now where is he?"

Mario was in fact, only about 30 feet away, but farther away from the exit that the hunters. Wolley gave him the rundown of his situation, "So, you're the last one left. Daisy and Timpani have been caught, and Shy Guy made it, so you need to get away from these guys. Don't worry, I'll direct you."

"Alright," whispered Mario, "So how do I-a sneak past these guys?"

"That's pretty much impossible," informed Wolley bluntly, "So you just need to surprise them and get away before they recover from the shock. Oh, and give a battle cry or something, it'll make the moment more cool."

Mario grinned, "Let's-a go!" He then gave a loud battle cry, barreling past the hunters before they could react.

And the chase was on.

"Get that plumber!" shouted the Koopa.

Mario ran away as fast as he could, dirt flying up from his heels. He skidded around corners, jumped into pathways, and ran, and ran, and _ran_. Wolley was barely keeping up with his instructions, occasionally getting the time to insert an enthusiastic "Go, go, go!"

_Mario:__During __my __entire __run, __I-a __got __a __strange __sense __that __I __was-a __running __from __Bowser __instead __of __those __hunters__… __ah,__memories._

Eventually, the Hyper Paragoomba managed to catch up and was preparing to lunge at him.

"HIT THE DECK!" screeched Wolley. Mario pulled off a stylish roll onto the ground, getting back up quickly and keeping his momentum. Now he faced 2 problems, the Koopa behind him, and the Hyper Paragoomba in front of him. However, he didn't really need Wolley to tell him to do what he was born to do.

"JUMP!"

"Yahoo!" shouted the hero, bounding over the Hyper Paragoomba and continuing through the maze, a grin on his face.

"Nice jumping!" complimented Wolley.

"Is that-a even necessary to say?"

"Touché," shot back Wolley. Mario was closing in on the exit to the maze and thankfully losing the hunters. He finally saw the finish line in sight, as did the hunters who were going now faster than they thought they could. On his final footstep inside the maze, Mario pushed of the ground, making a gigantic leap and high-fiving Shy Guy (who's hands were up in a cheer) as he landed.

"Best. Ending. Ever," commented the Actor.

"Curse you Mario!" snarled the Koopa.

Mario chuckled cockily, "Did-a you _really_ think you could catch me?"

"We at least caught the other two," retorted the Hyper Paragoomba.

Anderson, who had yet to say anything, shooed the 2 hunters off, and said, "Congratulations Mario! You have successfully completed the maze in 26 minutes, earning another 2,500 coins and making this challenge worth a total of 5,000 coins out of a possible 10,000."

"Wahoo!"

"Dude you were awesome!" cheered Wolley, now arriving with the navigators and the two failed runners.

"Yeah!" agreed Mallow.

"I think we owe Shy Guy some credit too!" said Toadiko.

"Oh yeah, nice-a job buddy!" said Mario, giving his fellow runner a pat on the back.

"Awesome job guys!" said Timpani, "I just wish we could say the same for us," she motioned to herself and Daisy.

"Meh," was the princess' only comment.

"Anyways, like I said," interrupted Anderson, "5,000 coins to the Team Pot!"

**Team Pot**

**69,000 Coins**

**(plus)**

**5,000 Coins**

**Result: 74,000 Coins**

**Possible: 127,000 Coins**

"Why don't we head back to the campsite?" suggested Anderson, "I think you all need a well-deserved rest."

_Daisy: **Very** well-deserved!_

"Please," begged Mona.

"I'm not-a tired anymore," complained Mario.

"I am," said Mallow.

So the contestants retired to their tents and Anderson went off to whatever place he was sleeping. Most of them fell asleep almost instantly, but a few (namely Mario) were up for a little while, but after 30 minutes, all the tents were quiet except for some faint snoring.

The rest of the night passed completely void of eventfulness. The next morning, everyone got up and ate breakfast, all crowded around the fire.

"So did we really have a challenge last night, or was I dreaming?" asked Toadiko.

"You were dreaming," replied Wolley.

"What! Really!"

Timpani rolled her eyes, "Wolley's just messing with you," she explained.

"Oh. Wolley!" she glared at the Toad who just chuckled.

"Does anybody else notice that Daisy isn't up?" asked Mona.

"Deja-vu!" said Shy Guy, nobody really seemed to get the joke, referencing the events of the previous morning.

"I'm here," groaned Daisy, pulling herself out of her tent. "Any coffee?"

Mona handed her a mug, "Yep."

"How long do you guys think we have until the next challenge?" asked Mallow.

"Who knows," said Mario, "I'm-a guessing there will be one today, but it could-a be at any time."

"Insert Anderson's entrance… here!" added Shy Guy. Everyone laughed, but surprisingly, their host didn't make a conveniently timed entrance, so they all got to hang around for a while longer until (around 11 a.m.) Anderson walked into camp.

"Let's pack up camp everybody!" instructed the host, "We're moving closer to Petal Meadows and Petalburg, but we'll still be staying out in the foothills for another day."

"Can't we-a go into Petalburg today?" asked Mario, "The mayor is an old friend of-a mine and I'd-a like to see him."

"Sorry Mario, not today," said Anderson.

Camp took about 30 minutes to pack up, once the equipment was packed up into some crew vans and driven off to parts unknown, Anderson led everyone away from the area near the cornfield maze and on to other parts where inevitably, they'd face the obstacles yet to come.


	10. Return and Resurface

**A/N: Well that was an absolutely massive amount of time between updates! To explain, I ended up taking a break from fanfiction for a while, finally returning a few months back with some Paper Mario updates, but it wasn't until I discovered krisetchers released a 3****rd**** Mole story that I was inspired to get back into writing the Mole (You've essentially started and saved this story now). However, I was first looking back on the characters with dissatisfaction, remembering the writer's block I suffered before leaving, so I actually started writing I second season (which I have taken down because I really should wait to you know… **_**finish season one first**_**) to get myself back into Mole-writing and upon rereading this story I fell back in love with the characters (figuratively of course). So, after a huge-ass break, welcome back to episode 3!**

**Oh and I should mention that everything after the word "Yvan" is post break, so if you notice a bit of a style change from there on, that's why. From that point on I'm dropping Mario's "a" habit, it's annoying to write.**

"And so our heroes journey through the pleasant and surprisingly safe Petal Foothills on their quest to-"

"Wolley," began Daisy.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Yes _Princess_." The silence within the group then proceeded to persist for quite a while longer as our heroes continued their quest to find the identity of the Mole. Anderson wasn't giving them too much of an idea of where they were headed, so they just followed him with blind faith.

Finally, Wolley couldn't take it anymore, "Shy Guy!" he hissed.

Shy Guy jumped a little, but snuck a glance at Wolley, "What?"

"Scream."

"…what."

"Really!"

"Why?"

"It's too quiet! Please, nobody expects you to do it!" begged Wolley.

"Perhaps," hissed Shy Guy. Nobody seemed to have taken notice of the pair's conversation.

"Isn't this your kind of humor anyways?" asked Wolley.

Shy Guy gave a wicked grin, "Part of it." Wolley then waited in anticipated, as the tension grew unbeknownst to the rest of the group. Finally, when Wolley thought Shy Guy wasn't going to do it, a screech rang out.

"Nnneeeuuughtglj!" was the unpronounceable scream that was Mallow's reaction.

"HOLY-!" shouted Mario.

"Waaaaaagh!" yelled Toadiko. The rest of the group's reactions (minus Shy Guy and Wolley) were generally the same.

Meanwhile, Wolley and Shy Guy were rolling on the ground, laughing as hard as their lungs would allow.

"Not funny!" snapped Timpani.

"It was to us," replied Wolley, wiping a tear from his eye, "It wouldn't of happened if Daisy hadn't told me to shut up!"

"But I didn't expect _that_!" defended Daisy.

"That's the brilliance of it!" Shy Guy added. He and Wolley high-fived.

Timpani: A bonding moment between those two over the rest of our misfortune. How… "touching".

"That really wasn't funny!" grumbled Toadiko. Shy Guy and Wolley's faces fell, not happy about hurting their friend.

"Funny or not, we should get going!" said Anderson. Everyone nodded in agreement and continued on. After a minute, Anderson turned to Wolley and Shy Guy who were now strolling beside him "It was a little funny," he whispered and the trio chuckled, much to the confusion of the rest of the group.

After an hour or so more of walking, Anderson announced they were taking a break, much to the relief of the players, who quickly began lounging on the luscious grass.

"I have to say," commented Anderson, breaking the silence, "This adventure has felt a whole lot longer than it really has been. Wouldn't you all agree?"

"Waaaay longer!" agreed Daisy.

"Yep," muttered Shy Guy.

"How are you all holding up?" asked Anderson, "You know, being away from your family and friends for so long."

Mario sighed, "I've gotten used to being away from-a them long ago."

"Honestly," said Wolley, "It sucks."

"Agreed," said Timpani.

"Who do you all think you miss the most?"

"Wario!" Mona immediately exclaimed. An awkward silence followed as Mario resisted the urge to glare.

Wolley eventually broke the silence, "My younger brother, Yvan."

"Well, of course it'd be Weegee!" exclaimed Mario.

"My mother, Queen Lily," sighed Daisy.

Timpani clenched a hand over her ring. "My love, Blumiere of course!"

Mallow thought deeply for a moment. "I guess I'd want to see my grandpa, it's been much longer since I've seen him than my parents! He'd be so proud to see me on another adventure!"

"I'd want to see my brother, Toadbert," Toadiko said quietly.

"Yeah! Good ol' Toadbert!" cheered Wolley.

Anderson turned to Shy Guy. "What about you?"

Shy Guy shuddered under the gaze of his peers. "Uh, I guess I really miss my dad. His name is General Guy."

Mario's jaw dropped. "You're General Guy's _son_?" he gasped. Shy Guy nervously nodded. "Small, small world," muttered Mario.

"Why do you want to know this, Anderson?" Timpani inquired suspiciously.

"Murderous reasons." That response evoked horrified expressions from the contestants. "Kidding, kidding!" insisted Anderson. "But you really can't find out." No farther protests were made so the group continued in silence. Eventually Mallow spoke up.

"So Daisy, Mona," he began a bit nervously.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Why do you two act so similarly?" asked the cloud prince.

"What?" blurted Daisy and Mona simultaneously. "We're totally different!"

After a momentary awkward pause Mona spoke. "Well I guess I'm weirder, I just thought you guys would reject me for it, so I kinda tried not to act weird."

Timpani put a comforting arm on Mona's shoulder. "We wouldn't reject you for being weird! We'll all accept you as our friend!"

"Plus anybody would look sane compared to _this _squirt," said Daisy, pointing to Wolley.

"I'm deliciously unpredictable!" chirped Wolley. Toadiko rolled her eyes.

After a few more minutes of walking, the group came upon a steep hill with a tunnel going into it. "Ladies and gentlemen," announced Anderson. "This is how we're getting up to the meadows!"

"I thought you said we weren't going to Petalburg today," said Mario.

Anderson shrugged. "Not if we don't hurry up and go through that tunnel!"

"Through there?" Timpani questioned, nervously glancing at her nice dress. "I took for granted how clean being a Pixl was," she muttered, trudging in with the rest of the group. Inside was a long tunnel that ended with a ladder to the surface.

Anderson was facing them from about halfway down the tunnel in front of eight pickaxes. "Look at the walls, what do you see?"

"Are those… coins?" Toadiko approached a gold chunk in the wall. "They are!"

"So I forgot to mention one _tiny_ detail," admitted Anderson. "We're having a mini mission!"

"Tiny detail indeed," Wolley said sarcastically.

"Snark. Snark. Snark," mocked Timpani.

"Anyways," said Anderson, ignoring the interruptions. "This one's called Greed of the Miner! Each of you will get a pickaxe and you have ten minutes to mine up as many coins as possible, the walls are loaded with loot!" He paused a moment before adding "Though those coins won't count towards the team pot."

"How do we win?" asked Daisy.

"Get the most coins to win," Anderson said simply. "Winner gets nothing, loser gets _something_."

"What's the so-," began Toadiko.

"Begin!" shouted Anderson. The contestants scrambled for their pickaxes, eager to not earn the mysterious "something."

"Monty would have been great at this," lamented Daisy. "I totally would have called this unfair and suspected him even more." She then suddenly noticed that all the other contestants were hacking away at the walls already. "Crap!" she exclaimed, running around to find a golden patch of wall. That task proved to take longer than she had hoped and by the time she found a good spot some of the other contestants had already mined five coins.

"Take this! And that! And a little of this!" shouted Wolley with each swing. Surprisingly, nobody criticized him for screaming, something that would have normally been done by Timpani.

"Hiya!" she shouted, digging the pickaxe into the ground. "No 'something' for this lady!"

Mario's burly arms were providing powerful blows to the wall. He thought he was doing the best until he glanced over to see Mona digging at unbelievable speeds. "Coins, coins, _coins_!" she cheered, hacking away as fast as humanly possible.

"Mona's going into Wario-mode!" Mario jokingly warned the rest of the group.

"I swear I'm going to be the buffest cloud in the world!" panted Mallow causing Toadiko to giggle.

"Time's up!" announced Anderson. Some contestants cheered at the prospect of resting limbs while others groaned with nervousness. "Bring me your coins!" Each contestant handed Anderson their coins who neatly sorted them into piles for each player. He took a minute to count up each pile before announcing the results. "The winner of Greed of the Miner is Mona with 30 coins!"

"Wahaha, yeah!" cheered Mona in a very Wario-esque fashion.

"Here, have a nothing!" said Anderson, handing her nothing. Mona victoriously snatched up the handful of nothing. After a brief pause Anderson's face turned grim. "And now for the loser. The loser, with eight coins, is Daisy."

"Oh." Daisy's face fell.

"Unfortunately, losing this mini mission earns you a -1," said Anderson, pulling out a red card. Several players cringed at the sight of it. Daisy pocketed it without a word.

_Daisy:__ Welp, I'm screwed! Not only do I have absolutely no clue who the Mole is, I now have a -1 which may as well be an instant execution!"_

Anderson led the group up the latter and into the blinding sunlight of Petal Meadows. They were about half a mile North of Petaburg.

"And so our heroes continue their rather uneventful quest through the bright, blissful Petal Meadows. While the scenery was beautiful, the long walks were far from interesting, a fact that was starting to drive the group insa-." Toadiko finally punched Wolley on the shoulder. "Fine, I'll stop," he whimpered.

"We'll be staying in the Petal Inn," announced Anderson as they walked into town. He handed out keys. "The room pairings are Mario/Mallow, Wolley/Shy Guy, Toadiko/Timpani, and Mona/Daisy."

**{Wolley and Shy Guy's Room}**

"And so our heroes kick back for some much needed rest and relaxation!"

"Dude, are you narrating?" asked Wolley.

"N-no!" snapped Shy Guy, blushing a bit. He paused for a moment to regain his composure. "So where's your journal?" he said suddenly. "I haven't seen you write in it."

"I've barely used the thing," admitted Wolley. "It's probably buried somewhere in my bag, I dunno." He shrugged. "I just go on gut instinct."

"You do realize that sort of attitude will get you executed, right?" Shy guy asked quietly.

"I guess," muttered Wolley. "The so-called 'challenge' of this game just hasn't shown itself to me. Sure, we've lost challenges, but we've still earned a significant amount of cash and I'm having fun, so what's there to worry about?"

Shy Guy sighed. "You won't get to keep having fun if you don't try to find out who the Mole is, Wolley."

"If you're so concerned about it, why don't we go find Toadiko and have a discussion about the Mole?" Wolley finally suggested.

Shy Guy grinned. "Sure! Er uh, sure, that sounds like a good plan," he said, trailing off. He quickly hopped off his bed and ran out of the room, soon followed by Wolley.

Toadiko heard a soft knocking at her door. "Oh, hey Shy Guy!" she said upon opening the door. "What brings you here?"

"Er, Wolley suggested we all have a talk about the Mole," said Shy Guy.

"Wonderful!" replied Toadiko. She glanced back at her roommate. "Do you mind if I leave for a bit?"

Timpani looked up from her journal. "Oh not at all," she said pleasantly. Toadiko flashed a smile before leaving.

**{Mario and Mallow's Room}**

"Hey Mallow, want to meet a friend from one of my other adventures?" Mario asked casually.

"Sure!" Mallow said cheerfully. "How about we talk about the game while we're out?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Mario, checking his moustache in the mirror. "My friend's name is Koops, he's the mayor here, by the way."

"I've never met anyone from your other adventures before!" Mallow said, sounding a bit excited.

"He's a pretty cool guy," said Mario. "Let's-a go!" The duo made way for the building's exit. "So," Mario began awkwardly. "Do you know if anyone thinks I'm the Mole?"

Mallow shook his head. "From what I've heard, you're pretty much unanimously accepted as a genuine player."

"Now wouldn't it be terrible if I was the Mole," Mario said mischievously.

Mallow chuckled. "You're too good of a guy for that, Mario!" He paused for a moment. "Though I'll keep that in mind," he said seriously.

"I just can't believe everyone thinks I'm innocent," muttered Mario.

"They do!" insisted Mallow. He pointed to Wolley, Shy Guy, and Toadiko sitting on a nearby hill. "I bet if I went up to them and asked if any of them thought you were the Mole, they'd all say no."

"Don't bother," replied Mario.

"Let's face it, Mario's not the Mole," said Wolley over on the nearby hill.

"I agree!" replied Toadiko.

"Either that or he has the most subtle sabotage imaginable," muttered Shy Guy. "Mallow could be though."

"I can see that," agreed Toadiko. "He screwed up a _lot_ in episode one and he got Timpani caught last night."

"Though let's not forget he was Mr. Perfect in episode two," pointed out Wolley.

"Moles can take days off," replied Toadiko.

"True."

"I kind of suspect Daisy too," added Toadiko. "She's been very reckless for this entire game. That sort of attitude is perfect disguise for a Mole." Wolley coughed loudly. "Just saying!"

Around that time, Timpani decided to leave her room for a brief stroll. "It's so peaceful here," she muttered to herself. "The landscape is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very comfortable!" She walked through the main square of town, taking in the sights. "The townfolk seem nice." She glanced over at what appeared to be a blue bear with a pink afro. "Though some of them are quite strange." She saw a raggedy, old bandit lurking alongside one of the shops, a sight definitely out of place in the peaceful village. He held a sign that said "The End is Near." "Hold on," Timpani said to herself. "That says 'The _Mole_ is near' doesn't it? It _does_! How strange!" She didn't pay the sign another though, however and continued on her way.

"It's the players like Timpani who make me nervous," said Mallow as he and Mario emerged from Koops's office. "Well like Timpani, Shy Guy, and you, actually. You all just seem so collected with your thoughts and so much smarter than I could be! I'm sure you all have it figured out and I'm just left clueless with the lowest score!"

"I can assure you that I'm not completely sure who the Mole is yet," said Mario.

"But someone has to be more sure, right? And everyone who's more sure than you puts you one step closer to execution." Mallow put his head in his hands. "That's what keeps me up at night," he sighed.

"Don't… don't worry about it buddy," Mario said, giving him a pat on the back, though the plumber himself seemed doubtful.

**{Petacular}**

An hour later, Anderson had managed to round up all the players and bring them to a local burger joint known as Petacular for lunch. "He's feeding us!" Wolley cheered.

"Yes, well I can't starve you _every_ episode," replied the host with slight honesty.

Mario took a large bite into his burger. "Mmm, just what I needed!"

"So whatcha got for us, calamari?" asked Wolley.

Anderson cringed. "Please… please don't call me calamari." He took a moment to regain his composure. "Well, after lunch we'll be taking a trip to the ruins of Shhwonk Fortress, it's a pretty cool place!"

"Cool as in occupied by a mission?" asked Mona.

"Not as far as I know," replied Anderson.

Daisy groaned. "I don't trust that tone, everyone enjoy the burgers while you still can!"

Mario patted his belly. "Way ahead of you!" he said with a satisfied sigh.

"Yes, enjoy your burgers in the next ten minutes please," ordered Anderson. "We need to get going!"

**{Shhwonk Fortress}**

Anderson emerged from the pipe leading into the basement, soon followed by the rest of the group, Toadiko being the last one out.

"Uhg, it's soaking wet down here!" cried Timpani.

"Have you tried buying some cheaper clothes?" suggested Daisy.

"I- actually that's a good idea," replied Timpani.

"Welcome to Shhwo- ah!" screamed Anderson as a fuzzy landed on him. "Get out of here!" he demanded.

"Meork!" squealed the fuzzy. Suddenly another one fell, followed by another, then another. Finally, countless fuzzies began falling from the ceiling, reducing the group to screaming pandemonium. The fuzzies kept pilling higher and higher, threatening to consume the players. After 30 seconds, Shy Guy was nowhere to be found. He was followed by Wolley, Mallow, and Toadiko. Anderson vanished next. Even Mario was consumed, leaving Daisy, Mona, and Timpani to wait, screaming, as the fuzzies piled up to their shoulders, their necks, their noses, and finally they were gone. "Meeeeeeork!" cried the fuzzy horde.

After what had to have been at least an hour, Toadiko awoke in an unknown chamber of the fortress. She found herself in a dark cell with water up to her knees. She began to panic. "It's just a dream, just a dream!" she squealed to herself, wishing it would be true.

"Meeeeeork!" The fuzzy's voice echoed from an unknown location. "Helloooo Toadikooo! As the last creature to enter our lair, you will be the first to try to escape!"

"Wh-what?" cried Toadiko, whirling around to face every direction the voice could have been coming from. She saw no fuzzies.

Suddenly the cell door opened. "You have 90 minutes to find the other creatures you came with and escape. Succeed and you earn 10,000 coins," the unseen fuzzy explained.

"You mean this is just some sick mission?" Toadiko screamed angrily, shaking with fear and rage.

"Meeeeork! Your host creature did not know about it either if that comforts you. Save him to," the voice replied. "Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeork!"

Toadiko took a shaky step forward. Mission or not, being buried in fuzzies was one of the most horrifying things to happen to her. "H-hello!" she called nervously. "Hello!" she finally shouted. "Somebody, anybody!"

"Meeeeork!" shouted a fuzzy, falling in front of her. Toadiko screamed with fright. "Your friends are doomed if you just call for them! Go, explore our glorious lair! Mehehehe!" The fuzzy quickly bounced out of sight, not giving Toadiko a chance to see where it had gone. Toadiko let out a small whimper before taking a few tentative steps through the hallway, looking around for any sign of the other contestants.

She came upon a staircase a little ways to the left of her cell door. She nervously climbed it and found a doorway that lead into a pitch black room. She looked warily at the room, taking a few steps back. What drove her towards it though was the thought that there might be a contestant in there, hopefully a braver one like Mario.

She edged into the room, sidling along the wall so she would know where she was. A few feet in she felt a small bump. She pressed it and suddenly the room was filled with a dim, flickering light. Said light revealed-

"Shy Guy!" cheered Toadiko.

"Don't look at me!" moaned Shy Guy, his back turned to Toadiko.

"W-why? What's wrong?" asked Toadiko shakily.

"My mask," breathed Shy Guy.

"Wha-?"

"They took my mask!" interrupted Shy Guy. "I-I can't be seen like this!"

"No he can't, meeeeork!" said a fuzzy, dropping from the ceiling. Much to Toadiko's horror, he was wearing Shy Guy's mask. She cringed as she realized what she had to do, but knew, mission or not, Shy Guy needed her to do this.

"Aaaah!" she screamed, lunging at the fuzzy who tried to hop out of the way, but Toadiko managed to grab a chunk of its fur.

"Meeeoork! Let go! Let go!" screeched the fuzzy, thrashing about wildly which caused Shy Guy's mask to fly off. Toadiko threw the fuzzy to the side and grabbed the mask. "You're no fun," whined the fuzzy, bouncing away.

Toadiko slowly approached Shy Guy and placed the mask on top of his head. "I'm turning away now," she said, doing so.

After a moment, Shy Guy was at her side. "Th-thanks," he said. "That means more than you'd believe to me."

"Of course!" replied Toadiko, her voice slightly cheerful, but shaken.

"I heard the fuzzies say this is a mission. That's just messed up," sighed Shy Guy.

"Yeah, this is way too, freaky," shuddered Toadiko, grabbing Shy Guy's hand for comfort. The two walked down the hallway, now going to the right of Toadiko's cell. Every noise was frightening to them, potentially being a fuzzy or who knows what.

After traveling 30 or so feet past Toadiko's cell, something white and puffy fell in front of them, getting them to shout in surprise. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was _Mallow's torso_. Their screams echoed through the ruins. Suddenly, Mallow's eyes shot open. Once he realized they were screaming, he started screaming, looking around for what they were screaming at.

"What's going on?" he shouted, sitting up.

Toadiko and Shy Guy backed away nervously. "Y-you're just a torso!" squeaked Toadiko.

Mallow looked down to confirm this. "Ah!" he shouted, causing Toadiko and Shy Guy to scream more. "My pants!" he shouted. Toadiko and Shy Guy stopped shouting and gave him confused looks.

"Y-your pants?" blurted Shy Guy.

"You're just a torso!"

"This is actually normal for me," admitted Mallow, breaking the tension. "Now where did my pants get off to?" he muttered, looking around. "Aha!" he cheered, looking up to where his pants were hanging by the feet. He wiggled his legs (somehow without being attached) for a bit until they fell too. He quickly reattached his torso to his pants. "So remind me what we're doing here again," he asked cheerily.

"We got attacked by fuzzies," replied Shy Guy nervously. "They brought us down here."

"Ah!" shouted Mallow, remembering the events of earlier. He started whirling around, looking at their current location. "So we're trapped with those creatures?" he said, panicking.

"Sort of," said Shy Guy. "They're saying escaping with everyone in 90 minutes is a mission Anderson didn't know about.

"I don't trust those things," whimpered Mallow, shuddering. He glanced around nervously. "Let's try to find somebody like Mario. He'll know what to do!" he said, not entirely sure in what he was saying.

"Yeah, let's go," said Toadiko, nervously stepping forward.

Shy Guy checked his watch. "80 minutes left," he muttered.

After they traveled down the hallway for another minute, they heard a distant voice. "_Can you see all of me? Walk inside my mystery. Step inside and hold on for dear life!"_

"Is that… singing?" questioned Toadiko.

The singing continued, getting louder as they approached. "_Do you remember me? Capture you or set you free? I am all and I am all of me!_"

"That's Wolley!" said Toadiko, running ahead, dragging Shy Guy with her. "Wolley!" she called. "Where are you?"

Up ahead they found Wolley in what looked like a giant birdcage. "Oh hey gang!" he said, completely disregarding their current predicament. "How's it going?"

"Terrifyingly," muttered Shy Guy.

"Is that so? Well how about you guys look around for a key, that'll be less terrifying!" replied Wolley.

Toadiko rolled her eyes. "You could at least pretend to be scared," she muttered.

"Why would I?" asked Wolley as the others searched the water for a key. "This is clearly a mission!"

"How'd you know?" asked Mallow.

"Think about it, would anything like this _really_ happen if we weren't on the show?" explained Wolley.

"Hm, good point!" replied Mallow. "So we know the fuzzies aren't just tricking us I guess!"

"Or Wolley's, being an idiot," said Toadiko, still wary of the ruins.

"That's always a possibility," admitted Wolley.

Shy Guy walked up to the cage. "Got a key," he muttered. Oddly enough, it didn't work. "Hm, I guess we'll need this later," he concluded.

After another few minutes of searching, Toadiko found another key. "Let's hope this works," she said. Thankfully it did and Wolley was free.

They continued down the hallway that never seemed to end, eventually coming to a wide chamber containing a high switch on one side and a cage containing Mario on the other.

"Guys!" he called. "It's-a me!"

"Mario!" cheered Mallow, running over to the plumber. He gave him a rundown of the situation while Toadiko, Wolley, and Shy Guy approached the switch.

"I think Mario's the only one who could jump that high," concluded Shy Guy.

"Well then, give me a boost!" ordered Wolley, backing up.

"What?"

"I'm gonna jump and you guys will boost me up there!" explained Wolley. Shy Guy shrugged, putting his hands down where Wolley could step. Toadiko reluctantly did the same. Wolley ran at them, stepped onto their hands, and was boosted high enough to hit the switch. "Wahoo!" he cried as he jumped.

The door to Mario's cage suddenly opened. "Nice jumping!"

"Thanks, jumpman!" said Wolley, cracking a grin.

"50 minutes left," muttered Shy Guy causing the group to press on faster. They soon entered another chamber where Daisy was stuck in a cage.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys!" she said, sighing with relief. Toadiko told her about the mission while the rest of the group started investigating the room. Mario noticed that a lot of the bricks in the wall were pushed out. He lightly pushed on one, causing it to slide back into place.

"Guys, help me push all these bricks in!" he called to the group. After a minute or so of brick-pushing, Daisy's cage suddenly opened.

"Meeeeeeeooooork!" Suddenly two fuzzies dropped into the room. "You've been advancing a little _too_ quickly, meork!" One fuzzy started circling Mario while the other circled Shy Guy.

"What's going on?" gasped Shy Guy, shaking.

"Meork!" shouted the fuzzies, one biting into Shy Guy's arm, the other biting into Mario's leg.

"What are they doing?" asked Mallow, horrified.

"They-they drain people's energy," Mario managed to say.

The fuzzies jumped off their victims. "There, meork! Now your two strongest links are your weakest!" The fuzzies cackled to themselves before jumping away. Mario's legs started to shake before he fell to his knees. Shy Guy simply faceplanted.

"Shy Guy!" called Toadiko. She and Wolley rushed to his aid, putting his arms around their shoulders.

"Th-thanks," muttered Shy Guy.

Mario eventually managed to get up and used Daisy (nobody else was tall enough) to balance as he walked down the corridor.

In the next chamber, the found Timpani with her arms chained to the floor. Several stones were sticking out of the wall like before. "What happened?" gasped Timpani, seeing the weakened Mario and Shy Guy. Toadiko explained what happened while Mallow (the only one not supporting someone) went to the walls to push the stones in. Once all the stones were pushed in, instead of Timpani being released, part of the wall slid open to reveal a little compartment containing a pickaxe.

Mallow walked up to Timpani with the pickaxe. "This is our only option," he said.

Timpani shivered a bit. "Please be careful, Mallow!"

Mallow swung the pickaxe with all his might, striking and breaking one of the chains. He gave a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?" he asked. Timpani gave him a thumbs up with her free hand. He took a swing at the other one, breaking it too.

"Thank you Mallow!" she said gratefully. As they walked even farther down the hall, she helped support Mario, who didn't seem to be growing any stronger.

"We must be nearing the end," commented Toadiko. "We only need to save Mona and Anderson."

Wolley looked at Shy Guy's watch. "25 minutes."

The penultimate chamber contained a cage with a simple key lock. "Guys? Is that you? I've been here for hours," moaned Mona.

Suddenly, Toadiko spotted a fuzzy in the corner grasping a key. "Mallow," she ordered. "Hold on to Shy Guy." Mallow quickly ran over to grab the actor and Toadiko slowly approached the fuzzy. "Ahhh!" she suddenly screamed, diving for the fuzzy. It dove out of the way and Toadiko scrambled after it, eventually grabbing a hold of it. "Stop. Trapping. My. Friends!" she roared, grabbing the key from its mouth and tossing it aside.

Wolley gave her a slightly horrified look. "Toadiko, I've never seen you so… ferocious."

"They've pushed me over the edge," admitted Toadiko. She quietly walked over to the cage and unlocked it.

"Somebody please tell me what's going on!" cried Mona, obviously distressed. The group tried their best to calmly explain the situation to her as they continued on through the halls. Finally they arrived in the final chamber: Anderson's.

"Players," he moaned. "I'm sorry, this is my fault!"

"No it's not!" replied Mallow, proceeding to explain the situation.

"They set up a challenge without _me_?" roared Anderson, clearly furious. "I'm the host, not a player, they can't just put me in a mission like this!" he ranted. "Uhg, let's get out of here!"

"How do we get him out, where's the key?" asked Mona.

"I don't see one!" exclaimed Daisy.

"Pocket," muttered Shy Guy.

"Huh?" the whole group turned to him.

"I found another key when we were saving Wolley, it's in my pocket," he managed to get out.

Wolley fished through Shy Guy's pocket. "Awesome!" He checked the watch. "We have 10 minutes to get out!" he announced.

"Thank you Wolley," said Anderson as he stepped out. "Now let us escape!" he declared.

"Meeeeeeeork! We don't think so!" The players plus Anderson gasped, looking back at the fuzzy who had fallen behind them. "You got through this too easily, meork! We think it's time you faced a real challenge!" Another fuzzy fell behind them, followed by another, then another, and finally it began to look like the scene from earlier was replicating itself right behind them. Things got worse when the growing pile began to move towards them. "Meeeeeeeeeooooooooooorrrrrk!"

"Run!" screamed Anderson, showing the players true fear for the first time. Mallow, Wolley, and Toadiko all carried Shy Guy above their heads and Mona, Daisy, and Timpani did the same with Mario. "I see a pipe up ahead!" shouted Anderson, hurrying his tentacle movements. He stopped at the pipe, allowing the players to go first, being the gracious host that he is.

"Mama mia!" moaned Mario as Mona chucked him into the pipe, the three other humans soon following. Shy Guy was deposited next, followed by the remainder of the players.

"Meeeeeoooork! We've got you, Anderson Blooper!" cackled the fuzzy horde, coming within feet of the host.

"Nope!" shouted the beanied blooper confidently as he jumped into the pipe. He came out in the underground section they were first attacked in.

"Come on Anderson!" called Toadiko, hopping into the pipe leading to the surface. Fuzzies suddenly exploded out of the pipe Anderson had just emerged from.

"Meorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeor k!"

Anderson dove into the pipe and ran out of the fortress as fast as possible. He met up with the players who were huddled 50 or so feet away from the fortress. He stared back, satisfied that no fuzzies were following them to the surface. "I'll be right back," he grumbled. After a furious discussion with the producers, he returned to the group.

"Are you okay?" asked Mallow, nervously.

"I'll be back to normal soon enough! How are you, players?" he replied. The general response was shaken, but good. "Well, it seems we all managed to escape in 88 minutes, so the mission was a success and 10,000 coins will be added to the team pot!"

"Only 10,000?" groaned Wolley.

"Sadly, yes."

**Team Pot**

**74,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**10,000 coins**

**Result:**** 84,000 coins**

**Possible:**** 137,000 coins**

Anderson looked at the weakened Mario and Shy Guy. "Well, I know we had lunch only a few hours ago, but it looks like some of us need to get our strength back. How about we get some burgers?"

**A/N: Well, this chapter is officially the longest one in the story so far! Hopefully that partially makes up for it being so late! Please let me know what you thought of the missions, the chapter, and the Mole in a review! Thank you and I'll try to update again sooner!**


	11. A Good Man Goes to War

_Episode 3 Part 3_

"I think the color's coming back to your face, Mario!" said Mallow cheerily.

"Awsm," grunted Mario through his burger. He appeared to be regaining his strength after the fuzzy attack suffered in the last challenge. Shy Guy, meanwhile was shoving his burger under his mask so he could eat it faster.

"Slow down!" insisted Toadiko. "You'll choke!"

"Om nom nom!"

Toadiko turned to Wolley. "Why are _you _eating so quickly?"

"Best. Burger. Ever," he gasped between bites.

"So isn't this the part where you start mentioning suspicious actions during the mission?" asked Mona.

Anderson shrugged. "I guess so, but I wasn't really there for it, so I have no idea what you guys did. What do you guys think?"

Wolley threw the remains of his burger down onto his plate. "Well I have a good idea of what happened before I was rescued, so I'll take a crack at it!" He hopped up onto the table, striking a pose.

"Get down, Wolley," groaned Timpani.

"Let's look at the most obvious first," he said, mimicking Anderson's voice. "Toadiko," he said pointing to the Toad.

"Hey!"

"Who knows how long she delayed the start of the mission? For all we know it could have been a two hour challenge and she waited thirty minutes to start! Not to mention her odd ferocity when fighting the fuzzies, very unlike her!" he accused.

"I told you they pushed me over the edge!" defended Toadiko.

Wolley ignored her. "And what about Shy Guy?" Shy Guy continued to scarf down food, ignoring Wolley. "Maybe his mask wasn't actually _stolen_ by a fuzzy! _Maybe_ he took it off and gave it to one so Toadiko would be delayed! And the fuzzy bite? Why didn't he move when it started to circle him? Did he _want_ to sabotage the players? _Or_ maybe he was trying to make himself look good and failed. I mean he _just happened_ to find a spare key that opened Anderson's lock!"

"Valid points," muttered Shy Guy, having cleaned his plate.

"Will you get do-," began Mallow.

"Cloud boy!" interrupted Wolley. "Why did he only drop his torso when he was perfectly capable of freeing his legs? All that did was delay Shy Guy and Toadiko with screaming."

"I was passed out at the time," replied Mallow.

"Were you? That's up to everyone else to decide. And what about the dashing young lad, Wolley? How did he manage to make a plan to hit Mario's switch so quickly? Either molishness or brilliance!"

Daisy snorted. "Way to be modest."

"Lastly, Mario 'jumpman' Mario! Like Shy Guy, why did he just sit there while the fuzzy was about to bite him? Certainly a legendary hero would know to react to that sort of thing!"

"Sit down, Wolley," sighed Mario.

"As for the rest of you," began Wolley. "Perhaps the Mole didn't strike during that challenge. Only one of us knows!" Wolley bowed and hopped off the table and into his seat. "How was that, Anderson?"

"Really good actually," replied the host. "Good job!"

Wolley grinned. "'Twas my pleasure!"

"Anyways," said Anderson, addressing the whole group. "You all have the rest of the day off; feel free to explore Petal Meadows!"

Mario stood up. "Let's-a go," he said, walking out. He began to stumble a bit.

"Woah there!" exclaimed Mona, rushing to his side. "Let's get you back to your room," she said.

Mario sighed. "I guess I need to." He put an arm around Mona's shoulders for balance and they hobbled off.

"How are you feeling?" Toadiko asked Shy Guy.

"I-I probably need to go lie down," admitted Shy Guy.

"Okay, I'll help you get back!" said Toadiko, offering him her hand. "See you later Wolley, I'm gonna make sure Shy Guy is totally okay!"

"See ya," muttered Wolley.

Anderson sighed. "See, the second they take me out of the mission process, people get hurt," he muttered under his breath.

Daisy suddenly jumped up and yanked Timpani out of her seat. "Come on, we're gonna get you some cheaper clothes!" she announced.

"Um, sure," agreed Timpani as she was dragged out of the restaurant.

The only two players remaining in the room were Wolley and Mallow and an awkward silence quickly settled between them. Finally, Wolley spoke up. "So," he began. "I hear there's a great sherbet place here, wanna go get some?"

"Oh!" said Mallow, surprised. "Sure, sounds cool!"

**{Mallow and Mario's Room}**

"Do you think the Mole had anything to do with that challenge?" asked Mona as she helped Mario onto his bed.

"I don't think so," muttered the plumber. "Even if they saw it coming, I get the feeling it was just as shocking to them as the rest of us."

Mona thought for a moment. "Wolley had a good point about you. Why _didn't_ you get away from that fuzzy?"

"I-I honestly don't know," admitted Mario.

Mona cast him a quick, suspicious glance. "Well I guess you're right."

"Did you think the Mole did anything?" asked Mario.

"Well, I just don't trust the fact that Toadiko was alone for the beginning of it. Who knows what she could have done!"

"I guess," conceded Mario.

"And she's been a fairly consistent saboteur," continued Mona. "She failed her master challenged, caused us to lose Rooftop Run, and tried not to go on the first challenge!"

"Keep it down!" Mario suddenly shushed. "She might be in the room right next door!"

Mona clamped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, right."

**{Wolley and Shy Guy's Room}**

"I hate to be rude, but why didn't you get away from the fuzzy?" asked Toadiko.

"I didn't think it would attack," muttered Shy Guy.

"Hm?"

"Well other than the beginning, the fuzzies never attacked us, they were just there to scare us," explained Shy Guy.

"So you thought it was just trying to scare you?" asked Toadiko.

"Exactly. Though I'm not sure why it called me a strongest link," said Shy Guy, now laying down.

"Well you _did_ manage to find Anderson's key," pointed out Toadiko. "They probably saw that as a huge deal."

"Hm, that makes sense," mused Shy Guy.

"Do you think the Mole sabotaged that challenge?" she asked.

"Not unless it was you or me," said Shy Guy, yawning.

Toadiko took a long pause before finally speaking. "I don't think you're the Mole," she said. Shy Guy didn't respond for quite a while. When she finally looked over, she noticed he had fallen asleep. "He's probably exhausted," she said to herself, tiptoeing out of the room. As she walked down the hall, she noticed the door to Mona and Daisy's room was open. Glancing inside, she noticed a journal sitting on the bedside table. She glanced around to see if anyone was looking before walking into the room.

She scooped up the Journal, identifying it as Daisy's. She flipped through the first few pages, seeing mostly evidence about Monty. The most recent pages started to show a wider assortment of suspects (Toadiko included). "All the information is so jumbled," she muttered to herself. Regardless of the disorganization, Toadiko spent several minutes trying to remember the various observations Daisy had made.

"Hey!"

Toadiko looked up in shock. "I-I."

"Don't try and make excuses, get out!" shouted Mona, snatching the journal from the toad's hands. Toadiko immediately scurried out of the room, leaving Mona alone. She sighed and put down Daisy's journal. "Suspicious," she muttered, getting out her own journal.

**{Petal Boutique}**

Timpani gave herself a skeptical look in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of light blue shorts and a light red (not quite pink though) t-shirt, an outfit that was far from her usual formal attire. "I don't know about this, Daisy," she said.

"Lemme see!" demanded Daisy. Timpani reluctantly opened the changing room door and Daisy looked at her for a moment. "Awesome!" she said. "Imma go get you a few more colors!" she said, running off.

"Daisy, are you sure I need all this?" asked Timpani upon the princess's return.

"Think of it this way," said Daisy. "Chances are we're going to end up visiting places way dirtier than here and when we do, do you wanna ruin a nice dress or some crappier athletic clothes?"

"Good point," said Timpani, closing the dressing room door.

After Timpani tried on some more outfits, the two humans left the store, arms laden with clothes. As they walked back to their hotel, they passed Mallow and Wolley exiting the sherbet store.

"Then the guy stuck out his tongue and _ate_ me!" said Mallow.

"Ha, no way!" exclaimed Wolley.

"Those two seem to be getting along well," commented Daisy.

"I'm glad to see Mallow making friends," said Timpani. "He's really only been talking to Mario."

"Suspicious if you ask me," whispered Daisy.

**{Wolley and Shy Guy's Room}**

Wolley walked into his room grinning. "Hey Shy Guy!" he chirped. No response. "Shy Guy?" he said, walking over to the actor's bed.

"Booyeah!" Shy Guy suddenly shouted, jumping up. Wolley screamed in shock. "I feel… foolish," muttered Shy Guy, sitting down on the bed.

"I take it you're feeling better," commented Wolley.

"Evidently," said Shy Guy.

"Wahoo!" came a cry from another room.

"I suppose Mario is too," added Shy Guy.

**{Darklanders}**

For dinner, the contestants had been called to a restaurant that served traditional Darklandian dishes that had "food hotter than Bowser's breath and drinks colder than his heart."

"Actually, Bowser's heart is surprisingly warm," commented Mallow.

"And claiming otherwise would earn you a bad reputation in Darkland," added Shy Guy quietly.

"Well there's a number of reasons as to why we're here," said the waiter, serving some Piranha Plant tea.

Timpani took a sip of the tea. "Goodness this is unbelievably cold!"

"We're a hit in deserts!" said the waiter as he walked away.

"Mama-mia! This hits the spot!" said Mario, gulping down the drink.

"Are you two feeling better?" Anderson asked Mario and Shy Guy.

"Oh yeah!" said Mario, giving a thumbs up.

"Affirmative," muttered Shy Guy.

"Wonderful!" cheered Anderson. "You're lucky we didn't have any challenges," he said, winking.

"I can handle them now, I think!" said Mario, confidently striking a pose.

On the other side of the table, Mona was whispering something in Daisy's ear. "What?" screamed Daisy.

"What's the matter?" asked Anderson.

"Toadiko was reading my journal!" shouted Daisy, pointing at the accused. Everyone gasped and turned towards the toad, who shrunk under the glares of her fellow contestants.

"I don't believe it," gasped Wolley.

"Toadiko is this true?" asked Anderson. Toadiko nodded, eyes glued to the ground in shame. "Well, Ms. Shroomose, I'm afraid that's a clear violation of the rules and while you will not be executed for it, I will have to remove 5,000 coins from the Team Pot."

"What?" squeaked Toadiko.

_Toadiko: I didn't realize there was a penalty for looking in someone else's journal, I just wanted to know what she was thinking!_

"I'm sorry, rules are rules."

**Team Pot**

**84,000 coins**

**(minus)**

**5,000 coins**

**Result:**** 79,000 coins**

**Possible:**** 137,000 coins**

"Nice going, _Mole_!" snapped Daisy.

"Way to go," said Mona glaring.

"I'm sorry!" squealed Toadiko, bursting into tears. "I didn't know this would happen, my curiosity got the best of me!"

Wolley patted her on the back. "There, there. It's alright, we've all cost the pot some money at some point and I'm sure they'll forgive you for it soon," he soothed.

"I'm so sorry," she moaned, looking up at Daisy. Daisy warily looked back, clutching her journal. Toadiko sighed and put her hand in her hands.

Wolley looked around for a while as an awkward silence came over the table for a minute or so. Finally he spoke up. "I know what will cheer us up. Mallow," he began.

"Huh?" replied the Nimbian.

"Why don't you tell the table what being eaten feels like?"

Ten minutes later, Mallow had the whole table laughing. Even Toadiko's mood seemed to be improving. "And then he immediately spit out Bowser, shouting 'Yuck! How repulsive!'"

"Let's not forget that I'm apparently sour!" added Mario.

"Or that Peach is peachy!" finished Mallow, getting one last laugh out of the table.

"Well now that spirits are back up," began Anderson. "I believe it's time to announce the last mission of episode three!"

"Sweet!" said Wolley.

"Lay it on us," said Shy Guy.

"This mission is called Castle Crashers and it's worth 30,000 coins!" said Anderson.

Mona practically choked at hearing the number. "30…30,000," she gasped.

"Tomorrow night you all will be stationed in Hooktail's Castle. In the dragon's former nest atop the highest tower there will be an orb you must protect at all costs. If it is safe by sunrise, you win the coins. If it is broken," Anderson paused for dramatic effect. "You get nothing!"

"Protect it from who?" asked Mario nervously. Anderson threw a picture onto the table. "Mama-mia." The picture showed Bowser, a Goomba, a Koopa Troopa, a Monty Mole, a Paratroopa, and a Lakitu.

_Mario: I'm sick and tired of seeing Bowser already!_

Timpani looked at the picture. "That is some awful handwriting," she commented.

Bowser had wrote "Here's Bowser!" at the top and circled his minions, writing "These guys x a ton!"

Anderson handed out a key to each player. "These are the keys to room 105 in the Petal Inn. In there you will find eight Super Scopes, additional instructions, and a map of Hooktail's Castle to plan your strategy on." He thought for a moment. "Oh and I wouldn't stray too far from town tonight, Bowser and his troops are camping out not too far from here and they're not exactly nice," he said, trailing off.

"This sounds like an easy mission for the Mole to sabotage," Daisy said nervously.

"Indeed it is!" agreed Anderson. "So be mindful of who you place where." With that note, the players started looking around nervously.

"30,000 coins on the line," muttered Shy Guy. "There's no way the Mole won't strike," he concluded.

"I'm actually more worried about Bowser's troops than the Mole," said Timpani. "I'm not sure how much 'a ton' is, but I assume it's enough to keep us up all night."

"No problemo!" insisted Mario.

"Maybe not for you," argued Timpani. "But what about the rest of us?"

"Right," sighed Mario.

"Not everyone can be Mario," added Mallow.

"To war!" Wolley shouted overenthusiastically, holding his drink up. Nobody bothered to cheer him. "You guys are no fun," he sighed.

Finally their food arrived. "If yer' facing Bowser, you better get used to some heat!" joked the waiter.

Shy Guy took a bite of his Jalapeño Steak. "Hooooot!" he screamed. He grabbed his tea, stuck it under his mask and chugged the whole thing.

"Er, better get you guys some more drinks," the waiter said, grinning sheepishly.

Mario nervously took a bite of his meal (also a Jalapeño Steak). "It's not so bad," he said, eating more. Shy Guy gave him a look of horror.

**{Room 105}**

The room was fairly barren. On the far wall hung eight Super Scopes, just as Anderson had promised. In the center there was a large table containing a piece of paper, a large diagram of Hooktail's castle, and figurines of each of the contestants.

"What do we do with these?" asked Mona, holding up the figure of her.

"I think we can use them to show what room we'll be in," guessed Timpani.

Mario picked up the instructions sheet. "We can defeat enemies by conventional means or by using the Super Scopes. With the Super Scopes, Goombas and Monty Moles take one hit, Koopas and Paratroopas take 2 hits, Lakitus take 3, and Bowser takes _100_!"

"Jeez," said Wolley, paling.

"Flying enemies cannot fly directly into the nest or onto the bridge leading to it though," Mario said thankfully.

"So who do we want to put in the most important spots?" asked Toadiko quietly.

"I'd say we put Mario in the nest," said Wolley. "He said he was a good shot and he has the most experience with these guys."

"Agreed!" said Daisy.

"Definitely," agreed Timpani.

"Are you up for it, Mario?" asked Mona.

"You bet!" said Mario, tipping his hat.

"Well Shy Guy and I should probably be in other important places since we're two of the best shots out of us," suggested Daisy.

"That sounds good," said Mallow, shrugging.

"Sure," agreed Timpani.

Mario placed his figurine in the nest and then moved Daisy's to the bridge. "We can have Daisy as a last resort before anyone gets into the nest," he said. He grabbed Shy Guy's figurine and put him at the front door. "Since Shy Guy's the most accurate, I figure he can stop the enemies as they approach the castle."

"I-I think I can manage that," said Shy Guy.

"Hey, I'm pretty experienced fighting Bowser's baddies, I wanna go somewhere important!" insisted Wolley.

"He could take the stairs to the second floor," suggested Timpani. "It looks like it will be harder to fight them after that point."

"Sounds good," said Mario. "What do you think, Wolley?" he asked.

Wolley grabbed his figurine and put it on the second floor stairs. "Awesome!"

"I can go here," Mallow said, pointing to a room suspended several floors up. "The height won't bother me." Nobody protested so the Nimbian's figurine was placed there. It was then decided that Mona would take the main stairwell to the third floor and Timpani and Toadiko would team up in the large passageway through the first floor where the Dry Bones used to reside.

"So it's agreed then?" Mario said once all the locations had been established. The group nodded in agreement, some voicing their yeas. By that point it was already past eleven, so the tired team made their ways to bed, resting up for the big mission. Mario suddenly stopped on the way to his room. "Hey Shy Guy?"

"Huh?"

"How confident are you in your guess on the Mole?" asked Mario.

"Er, uh, that's… secret," muttered Shy Guy.

The players spend most of the next day resting, only occasionally going out to eat or relieve their boredom. Late in the afternoon, Mario headed for the door of his room. "Hey Mallow, I'm gonna go s-say goodbye to Koops, this may be the last time I see him in a while," he said.

"Okay, see ya," said Mallow sleepily.

**{Hooktail's Castle}**

By eight p.m. when the sun was beginning to set, Anderson had rounded up all the players and brought them to Hooktail's Castle. He handed each player a Super Scope, night vision goggles, and a headset. "If you want to talk to the others, flip this switch," he instructed, pointing to a switch on the side of the headphones. "I should warn you all, while they won't try to kill you or hurt you too badly, Bowser's minions will fight you, they want to prevent you from stopping them and so don't expect them to just walk by passively!"

The players nodded solemnly. "Time to go to war," Wolley said.

"You have twenty minutes to get in place," said Anderson. He turned away from the players and began to walk back to Petalburg. "Good luck!"

Mario, being the player who had to go the farthest, guided everyone to their respective positions. He gave them quick instructions on which exits they wanted to protect and finally entered what used to be Hooktail's Nest. In the center stood a large crate atop which was a pedestal holding a gigantic, glowing green orb.

The players waited and waited, their anxiety growing until finally Shy Guy began to see Goombas on the horizon. He put his night vision goggles on and flipped on his mic.

"Here they come."

He looked through the scope, carefully aiming and finally pulled the trigger, shooting a ball of light that struck one of the Goombas.

"What are we dealing with?" asked Mario.

"Goombas," replied Shy Guy simply.

"How many?" asked Mario.

"Countless," groaned Shy Guy. He rapidly shot into the crowd, looking around. "They're coming from all sides."

"Just Goombas?" asked Wolley.

"For now," said Shy Guy. As they got closer he tried sweeping through them with a rapid fire option, but the crowd was simply too big and soon the Goombas were within a few feet of him.

"Outta the way!" growled one Goomba, lunging for him. He punched it out of the way and kept firing at the every advancing crowd.

_Shy Guy: There's something about this moment that makes me forget my fears. Something that makes me act more like a hero._

"There's just too many," cried Shy Guy. "It looks like Bowser brought his whole army! They're going to get past me, but I'll take out what I can."

"Keep trying, Shy Guy!" cheered Toadiko, secretly hoping he could take out all of the enemies before they got to her.

Shy Guy was forced back onto the front doors. He tried his best to fight them off, but soon they started pushing past him and into the castle. "They're getting in," he announced. "Toadiko, Timpani, get ready," he said worriedly. Fearing he wouldn't be able to fight well from the middle of the crowd, he jumped onto a Goomba, trying to hop from one to the other as he shot.

Several rooms in, Toadiko stood, shaking with fright. "This is so scary," she whimpered.

"We'll be fine," said Timpani, unsure of herself.

The first Goomba entered the room. "Aaaaaah!" screamed Toadiko, firing a charged ball of light at it, which easily knocked it out. More soon flooded the room and Toadiko and Timpani both tried to fend them off with rapid fire. As they fought more and more of the minor minions, Toadiko began to become visibly braver.

_Toadiko: This must be how Mario feels out on adventures. Fear starts to vanish once you're fighting enough of these guys_.

Timpani tried taking out chunks of enemies with charged shots while Toadiko sprayed the front lines with rapid fire. That seemed to work to an extent, but the duo was slowly being backed towards the back wall.

Outside, Shy Guy was doing his best to fend off the swarm of Goombas when in the distance he saw bits of green appear on the horizon as well as some tunnels being dug towards him. "I think Koopa Troopas and Monty Moles are approaching," he announced.

The Moles took him by surprise, easily coming close to him without being noticed, but unfortunately (for them) they tended to jump out of their holes fairly high, giving Shy Guy the chance to stop them. As the Koopas approached, he jumped on some and kicked them through the crowd, turning them into an effective means of defense. He noticed some of the Monty Moles trying to climb up the walls, which forced him to cover a larger area with his Super Scope.

Back inside, the Goombas finally made their way past Toadiko and Timpani, making their way to the stairs. "Well it's about time!" commented Wolley. He aimed the Super Scope and quickly blasted some Goombas. "This is gonna be intense," he grunted as the Goombas tried to climb the stairs. He looked back at where the Goombas were entering from, only to see countless Goombas pushing their way past the first three contestants. "Mmmm gulp!" he said.

Toadiko was trying to fight back a swarm of Koopas who had pushed her back to the doorway of Wolley's room. "Waa!" she cried as a Koopa pushed her to the ground. Unfortunately for the Koopas, Wolley witnessed this event. His fists clenched tightly.

"Kooooooopaaaaaas!" he roared, firing several charged shots at the group responsible.

"Yo Wolley," came Mona's voice over the headset. "You're already letting Monty Moles by?"

"What?" snapped Wolley, trying to suppress the oncoming fungi. "I haven't seen any Moles!"

"They must be climbing into the second floor," said Shy Guy, turning to shoot some Moles off the wall.

"It feels wrong attacking guys who look just like Monty," said Timpani grimly.

"He would be cracking jokes about it if he were here," assured Daisy. "Just fight them off!"

More and more minions were getting to the top of the stairs and Wolley was having trouble fighting them off. He tried kicking Koopas into chunks of enemies, but that only stopped a few. Eventually, some of the Goombas managed to make their way past Wolley, shoving him as they went. "Sorry Mona," said Wolley. "You've got some more guys headed your way."

_Wolley: The amount of minions in this mission was just staggering. Bowser really pulled out the stops for this!_

"Got it!" replied Mona, picking off the few Moles who were making their way from the second floor. Soon she saw the Goombas enter the stairwell. She began firing from the top. "Yeeeehaw!"

Outside, Shy Guy was doing all he could not to get buried in the army that was assaulting them. Suddenly, a spiky ball crashed down in front of him. "The Lakitus are here," he announced. A Paratroopa wooshed by him and into the door. "So are the Paratroopas." He tried to shoot down the flying enemies, but most of them flew out of range going to the second floor (which was mostly safe for them) or straight up to Mallow's room.

"Yikes! The fight's come to the third floor!" announced Mallow, quickly aiming his Super Scope.

A few enemies flew into Mona's stairwell. She was soon bombarded with Lakitus and Paratroopas, which proved to be distracting enough to let some of the ground troops pass through. "Jeez, the flying ones are making things much harder!"

"Yikes!" exclaimed Mallow as the ground troops made it to his room.

On the bridge leading to the nest, Daisy was managing to fend off the enemies that got through Mallow's room. "You should be safe for now Mario!" she assured him.

"Guys," breathed Shy Guy. "I think we have a problem."

Another voice signed onto the headsets. "Heeeeeere's Bowser!"

**A/N: Well this is certainly an intense mission! Will the gang manage to fend off Bowser and his baddies? Will the Mole strike? Who will be executed? Who is the Mole? All these questions (except for that last one) will be answered in the next chapter! Please leave a review letting me know what you think of the mission, the chapter, and the identity of the Mole!**

**Oh and I've linked to a new clue on my profile, go check it out!**


	12. Dragon's Executioner

**A/N: When I say "{Epic music begins.}" play **_**I Am The Doctor**_** from the Doctor Who soundtrack.**

_Episode 3 Final Part (4)_

"Guys," breathed Shy Guy. "I think we have a problem."

Another voice signed onto the headsets. "Heeeeeere's Bowser!"

"No!" cried Timpani, trying her best to fend off the baddies in the room.

"Yes!" roared Bowser. He ran across the field at full speed, parting the crowd ahead of him and stomping anyone in his way.

Shy Guy desperately shot at him. "This isn't good, _this isn't good_!"

Bowser actually managed to dodge a lot of the shots as he ran. "Is that all ya' got? Gwahaha!" The one silver lining to his arrival was that his complete disregard for his minions led to many of them being wiped out. Though then again: Bowser was probably worse.

Shy Guy tried his best to hit the Koopa King, but for such a big target, he was moving fast and seemingly talented at letting smaller targets block incoming projectiles (i.e. the Goombas). Bowser was quickly approaching Shy guy. 20 feet. 10 feet. Suddenly Bowser's massive fist was clamped around Shy Guy. The actor fired a charged shot into Bowser's chest, but all he did was cackle.

"You're pathetic!" he growled, throwing Shy Guy down and bursting through the door.

"Should I chase after him?" asked Shy Guy, getting up.

"No," ordered Mario. "Stay there and fend off the minions. The less of them they are, the more we can focus on Bowser later! Shoot him while he's there, but do not chase!"

"Don't focus on Bowser… so we can focus on Bowser later?" questioned Mallow.

"We need to clear out the chaos," clarified Mario.

"Got it," replied Mallow.

Toadiko and Timpani were listening to the massive pounding of Bowser's footsteps rapidly approaching when Toadiko looked down at her Super Scope in horror. "What's wrong?" asked Timpani.

"My Super Scope… _jammed_," gasped Toadiko over the headset.

"Moooooooole!" was Daisy's reply.

"No," added Wolley. "Mine jammed too, it could have been anybody." He looked down at the swarm of enemies approaching him and shifted his grip on the Super Scope. "Fore!" he cried, swinging the weapon like a golf club.

Back in Toadiko and Timpani's room, the footsteps were coming from right outside the door. "Graaaah!" roared Bowser as he burst in, clearing a large chunk of enemies. Timpani began to fire at the Koopa King who did his best to avoid the shots in the cramped space. Toadiko gulped and ran up to him.

"Toadiko, don't!" called Timpani.

"Take this!" cried the toad, smacking Bowser in the jaw with the Super Scope.

"Get outta my way!" growled Bowser, attempting to grab her. Toadiko quickly jammed the Super Scope between her and him.

"Get some hits in on him, Timpani!" called the toad, struggling to hold off the Koopa King. Timpani managed to hit him with rapid fire for a moment until he finally tossed Toadiko out of the way.

"Bwahaha! Here I come, lady!" roared Bowser, suddenly running at full speed towards Timpani. He pushed past her, smacking the Super Scope from her hands.

"He's coming your way, Wolley!" warned Timpani.

Wolley smacked a Koopa on the head, making it go into its shell. "I-I'm ready!"

Bowser dashed in. "Yellow Toad!" roared Bowser. "I remember you!" he said, bristling with anger. He ran up the stairs, prepared to toss Wolley out of the way.

Wolley leapt into the air. "The name's Wolley!" he snapped, kicking the adversary in the snout.

"Gwar?" gasped Bowser, losing his balance and tumbling backwards down the stairs. He groggily got up and began marching back up the stairs. Wolley quickly snagged the Koopa shell next to him and chucked it at Bowser's face as he got to the top. "Grah!" shouted Bowser, falling back down the stairs. This time he was stuck on his back, rendering him unable to move.

"Wahoo!" cried Wolley. He leapt from the top of the stairs all the way down onto Bowser's upturned belly.

Bowser roared in pain, swinging his fists until he smacked Wolley off of him and into a wall. He began to rock his body back and forth until he was able to get up. "I'm back, baby!" he cheered, running up the staircase past Wolley.

"Coming your way, Mona," moaned Wolley, getting up. He began to get back to work, taking out the endless stream of grunts coming his way.

Mona attempted to hit Bowser as he ascended the stairs, but he seemed to have absolutely no trouble avoiding the balls of light. "This guy is unstoppable!" screamed Mona.

"I managed to knock him down the stairs twice," muttered Wolley.

"No way!" cried Mona. Bowser was steadily getting closer.

"I think I took him by surprise," said Wolley, lingering on the word "surprise".

Mona managed to get a charged shot to hit him. "Take that!" she cheered.

Bowser charged to the top of the stairs and shoved her aside. "Take that!" he sneered. He made his way into the next room and stopped. "Huh?" he said, looking around. Suddenly, he was met with a charged shot, throwing him off balance.

"Yaaaa!" cried Mallow, jumping from a nearby ledge. He punched Bowser in the snout, sending the Koopa King falling down the three story room.

"Malloooooooow!" he roared.

"What did you do?" Wolley asked, having heard Bowser.

"Remember how my room's suspended above the first floor?" Mallow began. He didn't wait for an answer, continuing "I took him by surprise and knocked him down, he's heading your way Wolley!"

"Jeez, Mallow, you haven't been this confident since we fought Smithy!" exclaimed Mario.

"Don't underestimate adrenaline," muttered Shy Guy. The actor stared into the distance. "I think the last of the enemies are coming," he said.

"We might be able to do this!" cheered Mario.

"Wait a minute," said Shy Guy. "Looks like all the flying enemies are heading for Mallow's room!"

Mallow braced himself. A few seconds later, he was bombarded by countless Paratroopas and Lakitus. "I can't handle them all!" he cried, hitting what few enemies he could.

"At least they're not down here," commented Wolley, socking Bowser in the gut.

Out on the bridge, Daisy was suddenly dealing with a massive swarm of enemies. "Get ready Mario, I can't handle all these guys!"

Mario switched his Super Scope to rapid fire mode and took aim at the door. He didn't wear his night vision goggles, deciding that the moonlight in the nest was good enough. Finally, the first enemy burst into the nest. Mario quickly took out the Paratroopa and fought off the rest fairly well. "No problemo!"

Bowser had once again made his way into Mallow's chamber, but this time it was the nimbian who was surprised. "Uh-oh," he gasped. Bowser pushed him to the floor and exited onto the bridge.

"Hey Bowser," Daisy said, aiming her Super Scope away from the crowd of enemies. "Remember at that party where I smacked you _really_ hard?" she asked in reference to the third Mario Party.

"Yeah," Bowser said, angrily marching towards her. "What about it?"

"I'm about to do something much worse!" shouted the princess, suddenly running at Bowser at full speed.

"Huh?" Daisy suddenly drove a sneakered foot between the Koopa King's legs. "Graaaaaaah!" roared Bowser, falling onto his knees. "Low blow, Sarasa, low blow," he moaned. Daisy wailed on him with the Super Scope. "Stop," he growled. "You. Will. Stoooooop!" Bowser roared, pouncing on Daisy. He quickly shoved her to the side (though thankfully not off the bridge) and ran towards the nest.

"Mario!" cried Daisy. "Bowser's heading for the nest!"

"Mario!" roared Bowser, bursting in through the door.

"Everyone, get to the nest!" ordered Mario.

"Oh, so you want to end this with an epic battle?" questioned Bowser.

"That I do," Mario said sternly.

"Sounds sweet!" cackled Bowser. "Minions! Assemble!" he roared. His powerful voice echoed throughout the castle.

Within minutes, the players had gathered in the nest, forming a circle around the crate. Mario was facing the door. He nervously glanced up at the orb, which sat atop the pedestal that sat atop the crate. Bowser stood across from him at the door. The remainder of his army was lined up down the bridge, prepared to attack.

"3," counted down Mario.

"2," replied Bowser.

"1," the players said nervously.

"Attack!" screamed Bowser's army, bursting through the gates. Bowser himself started running at the players.

"Mama-mia," moaned Mario. He focused on fighting Bowser while the rest of the players tried to fend off the army who soon filled the entire room. Lakitus and Paratroopas swirled around the skies. Daisy and Mona picked off any flying enemies that tried to dive at the orb, Mallow, Timpani, and Shy Guy all tried to control the crowd on the ground with rapid fire, and Toadiko and Wolley jumped from enemy to enemy as well as they could. The strategy miraculously seemed to work.

"You know you're going to lose, Mario!" jeered Bowser, dodging one of Mario's shots.

"Shut up, Bowser!" growled Mario. He jumped at Bowser, but the Koopa King, swiped him out of the way. "Yaaaar!" shouted Mario, lunging at his nemesis once again. Bowser grabbed him by the legs. "No," breathed Mario.

"I've always wanted to do this!" cackled Bowser, beginning to spin around and around. Finally, he tossed Mario right at the orb. "So long, eh Mario?" he shouted.

"Nooooooooo!" screamed Mario. The other players looked up in horror, seeing Mario slam into the orb, knocking it off of its pedestal. Wolley tackled Toadiko out of the way of the falling orb as it crashed to the floor, shattering.

"Victory!" shouted Bowser, pounding his chest.

"I-I failed," moaned Mario, weakly getting up.

"Minions, move out!" ordered Bowser, marching out without another word to the contestants.

The minions stopped what they were doing and followed their leader out of the nest, brushing past the contestants. "Good fight," muttered a Goomba.

A few minutes later, Anderson pushed through the crowd of minions and made his way over to the silent players. "Well players," he began. "The orb was broken and there are still a couple of hours until sunrise, so you failed," he said grimly.

**Team Pot**

**79,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**0 coins**

**Result:**** 79,000 coins**

**Possible:**** 167,000 coins**

"We're going to need to exit the nest for a little bit," said Anderson. The group went out on the bridge and sat on the steps leading to the nest. Several members of the show's crew passed by.

The enemies Daisy had taken down on the bridge began to wake up. "Wh-what's going on?" groaned a Goomba.

"The mission is over and you all won," informed Anderson.

"Oh sweet!" cried the Goomba hopping up. "Did ya hear that guys? We won!" The rest of the enemies suddenly got up. "Darkland! Darkland! Darkland!" they cheered as they left the bridge.

"What a bunch of cocky idiots," grunted Daisy.

"They're not _all_ so bad once you get to know them," muttered Shy Guy. "Some of them are," he added.

"Are you from Darkland?" asked Mona.

"Yeah," said Shy Guy. "Born and raised in Neo Bowser City."

"Huh, I never knew that," she said.

"As much as I would like for you to get to know each other better, I think it's time we discussed suspicions!" announced Anderson.

"Great," said Wolley sarcastically.

"We'll begin with the three obvious potential sabotages," said Anderson. "First we have Toadiko and Wolley who's Super Scopes jammed! Now they admittedly lose some suspicion for it happening to both of them, but one of them could have easily been faking it!" Anderson then turned to Mario. "Then we have Mario getting thrown by Bowser. If it had happened to anyone else, it may have seemed acceptable, but could this really happen to _Super Mario_?"

"Mama-mia," Mario sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"But if you think about it," continued Anderson. "Any one of you could have done something, you were all alone." He paused for a moment. "Actually, Timpani, you were the only one who can't fall under suspicion for your actions during the challenge. Timpani beamed. "But that doesn't mean you didn't do anything." Her beam turned to a scowl. "Two Super Scopes jammed tonight and while it could have been purposeful sabotage during the mission, what if somebody snuck into room 105 yesterday and sabotaged them?"

"Anyone could have," commented Mona.

"Exactly," said Anderson. "And one more thing before we reenter the nest. Think about the Moles climbing into the second floor and where the Paratroopas and Lakitus entered. They happened to enter in places very… _convenient _for them." With that, Anderson turned around and entered the nest.

"So-somebody told them our plans, didn't they?" gasped Shy Guy, shakily standing up.

"Mooooooooole!" roared Wolley, getting up and stomping into the nest. The rest of the group quickly followed.

The doors slammed behind them. "Your third execution begins now."

The glass from the orb had been swept away and the pedestal was sitting by the far wall. It seemed that the content of the crate was the usual execution setup. "Space yourselves along the wall and make sure the spaces between you are equal," ordered Anderson. The players obeyed, facing the center. Anderson's assistant, Gloombadrick came in and handed a laptop to each contestant. Upon opening it, the quiz was displayed before them.

**Execution Quiz #3**

**#1- Is the Mole male or female?**

**-Male**

**-Female**

_Mallow: The first question was easy enough. 50-50 chance isn't a bad way to start!_

**#2- Was the Mole a runner or guider in the 'Poached Corn' mission?**

**-Runner**

**-Guider**

_Shy Guy: Sometimes you just had to think which side was capable of more sabotage._

**#3- When was the Mole found in the 'Hairy Situation' mission?**

**-First**

**-Second**

**-Third**

**-Fourth**

**-Fifth**

**-Sixth**

**-Seventh**

**-The Mole was searching from the beginning**

_Toadiko: It's hard to recall exactly what happened in that challenge. It was evil and so is this question._

**#4- Has the Mole ever earned an exemption?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

_Mario: It's a little ridiculous to make us think back to the other episodes for this quiz._

**#5- What floor was the Mole stationed on in 'Castle Crashers'?**

**-First**

**-Second**

**-Third**

_Wolley: This was at least something we all should have known._

**#6- Did the Mole's gun jam during 'Castle Crashers'?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

_Mona: You'd think so._

**#7- Where did the Mole go after going to Petacular for the second time?**

**-Mario's Room**

**-Shy Guy's Room**

**-Petal Boutique**

**-Out for Sherbet**

_Daisy: Toadiko did end up costing us money for what she did. That's mighty suspicious, but I don't know what to think._

**#8- How many coins did the Mole earn in 'Greed of the Miner'?**

**-30 coins**

**-8 coins**

**-Somewhere in between**

**#9- What species is the Mole?**

**-Human**

**-Toad**

**-Shy Guy**

**-Nimbian**

_Wolley: Only one question truly matters in an execution._

**#10- Who is the Mole**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Daisy Sarasa**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

Once all the players had finished their quizzes, they gathered in front of the stage where Anderson stood menacingly. "I will enter your name into the computer. When I do, if a green thumbprint comes up, you are safe. If a red one comes up," he paused for drama. "You are the Mole's third victim." "Mario, you're up first."

M

A

R

I

O

.

.

.

.

.

Green

Mario gave a sigh of relief.

"Mallow."

M

A

L

L

O

W

.

.

.

.

Green

"Thank goodness," breathed Mallow.

"Wolley."

W

O

L

L

E

Y

.

.

.

.

Green

"Hellz yeah," whispered Wolley.

"Timpani."

T

I

M

P

A

N

I

.

.

.

Green

"Yes," whispered Timpani under her breath.

"Daisy, you have a -1." Daisy nodded grimly and handed Anderson the card.

D

A

I

S

Y

.

.

.

.

.

Red

Daisy sighed, letting her head drop.

"I'm sorry, Daisy," said Anderson. "You are the Mole's third victim."

"I would have been executed even without the -1, wouldn't I?" Daisy asked quietly.

Anderson nodded slowly. "I'm afraid so."

"Well darn," sighed Daisy.

Mona gave Daisy a pat on the back. "You'll be missed!" she promised.

"Agreed!" cried Mario, giving her a friendly hug. "You've been a great player, Daisy!"

"Come with me, Daisy," said Anderson.

"But!" cried Mona.

"We're all sad to see her go, Mona," soothed Timpani.

"Goodbye, friends!" called Daisy as she walked out.

"But she was my best friend in this game!" cried Mona, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"I-I can't say I didn't see it coming, but it does not make it feel any better," said Shy Guy.

"What do you mean?" asked Mona.

"Her heavily suspecting the last victim and the -1 could not lead to good things," he explained.

"So reading her journal was pointless," muttered Toadiko. "Money was just wasted."

"Does the money matter right now?" snapped Mona. "Daisy's gone! We need to reflect on her!"

"Yes, we definitely need to," agreed Mario.

* * *

Anderson stopped in the middle of the bridge. "So this is it," he said.

"Yeah," sighed Daisy. "It is." She looked up at Anderson and smiled. "It's been fun though!"

"Just fun?" asked Anderson. "I'm certainly glad that you had fun, but was the game at all stressful?"

"Well yeah," said Daisy. "Stress has been a pretty big part of this game, what with the Mole lurking and everything, but I vowed not to let stress get to me. This is a unique experience and I wanted to enjoy it, getting too serious and too stressed would just ruin it and that would be a waste of a great opportunity."

Anderson stood silently. He took in her words and gave them a decent amount of thought. "Wise words," he finally said. "I suppose you've discovered a great way to enjoy the game!" he said. His expression soon turned grim, though. "Perhaps not a great way to stay in the game, unfortunately. It's a shame to see you go Ms. Sarasa," said the host. He appeared to be genuinely upset.

* * *

"She was definitely a humorous player," said Wolley. "When she was excited she could get hilarious!"

"She certainly added a spark to the game," agreed Shy Guy.

"She was very loyal to her friends," Timpani added.

"And while she was clearly in it to have fun, she played competitively," said Mario.

"Which definitely helped win some missions," said Toadiko.

"Yeah," agreed Mario. "Chances are we would have lost that last mission a lot earlier had she done worse on the bridge. I would have been swarmed!"

"I suppose she deserves credit for picking out a suspect so quickly," said Mallow, shrugging.

"Well it was a very good strategic reaction," Mario said. "A lot of it starting in episode two was in reaction to Jolene's execution which was mainly due to not having a suspect."

"Too bad she was wrong," sighed Mona.

* * *

"What would you say was your downfall?" asked Anderson. "Jolene's was uncertainty, Monty's was poor luck, so what was yours?"

"Being too sure in who the Mole was," Daisy replied immediately. "Once Monty was executed, I didn't know what to do! I was so unprepared for that event that I just ended up putting mostly random answers down on the quiz. It was too early to choose a candidate and I didn't have enough evidence," she concluded.

"If only you could have known that before then," said Anderson.

"Live and learn I guess!" said Daisy shrugging.

"What do you plan on doing once you get home?" asked Anderson.

Daisy pondered for a moment. "Well assuming you don't need Peach anymore, I'm gonna go get her and we're going to have some adventures in Sarasaland! You guys have given me a renewed taste for adventure!"

"Well good luck to you with your adventures," said Anderson. "However it is time for you to leave The Mole. There's a van with a red thumbprint on it located in the main square of Petalburg. Our crew will take you there.

Daisy edged to the side of the bridge and peered over. "Yeah, yeah," she said.

"Er, Ms. Sarasa, what are you doing?" Anderson asked nervously. Then Daisy threw herself off the edge. "Daisy!" Anderson screamed, running to the edge.

"Ha, don't worry about me!"

{Epic music begins.}

"What?" gasped Anderson. After a moment, Daisy rose up to Anderson's level, holding onto a Lakitu on his cloud.

"I told you, I have a renewed taste for adventure!" said Daisy. "Onward, Lakitu! Take me to Petalburg's main square!"

"You got it, miss," the Lakitu said grumpily.

"Bon voyage, Daisy Sarasa!" called Anderson, trying to hide his amazement over the pure daringness of the princess. The scene looked especially spectacular in the brilliant moonlight.

Anderson eventually made his way back into the nest. "Where's Daisy?" asked Mona.

"She flew away," Anderson said simply, receiving perplexed looks. He refused to elaborate on the subject.

**{Petalburg Main Square}**

By the time the (now seven) players arrived in Petalburg, Daisy was long gone. "So where are we heading next?" asked Mario.

"Well the next episode takes place far away from here," said Anderson. "But to get there we need to travel back to Rogueport first."

"And how are we getting there?" asked Mona.

Two crew members drove up in a black, topless Jeep bearing a green thumbprint on the hood. "Anyone wanna ride with me?" asked Anderson.

"Me! Me!" squealed Mona, running up to the Jeep. The crew members hopped in the back, Mona took shotgun, and Anderson got in the driver's seat.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Wolley impatiently.

Gloombadrick drove up in another Jeep. "Two of you can get the back seats," he said. Shy Guy and Timpani ran up to claim seats with the host's assistant.

The next Jeep caused Mario to groan loudly with distaste. "Mario! Mallow! Get in here!" roared Bowser. The duo reluctantly joined the Koopa King in the Jeep, casting each other nervous looks.

The final Jeep was driven by an unknown woman. She looked to be in her 50s, wore an elegant red dress, and had orangish-brown hair cut into a bob-cut. Toadiko and Wolley quickly boarded the Jeep.

"Off we go!" shouted Anderson, driving off towards Petal Foothills.

"Yeah!" cheered Bowser. "This is just like back when we were fighting Smithy. The Koopa Troop is _back_, baby!"

"Yeeeeah," Mario and Mallow awkwardly cheered.

"Now all I need to do is kidnap Peach," began Bowser.

"Geno still isn't here!" interrupted Mario.

"Well I could _still_ kidnap Peach," began Bowser.

"Bowser," began Mario angrily.

"Nah, I'll just wait until you get executed, I like this show too much to take a player from it!" Bowser admitted.

"Well you're assuming he's not the Mole!" pointed out Mallow.

"He _is_ pretty Mole-ish," said Bowser.

* * *

A few hours of driving through Petal Foothills passed and by the time convoy arrived near the entrance to Rogueport, it was already light outside.

"I'm so tired," moaned Wolley.

"Need. Coffee," droned Mona.

"Try to stay up for a little longer," insisted Anderson. "We'd like to get your sleep schedules back to normal so we can avoid having only night missions!"

"Meh," groaned Wolley.

"Now, off to the airport, we have a flight to catch!" said Anderson. The four drivers walked along with the players across Rogueport. Any potential risks Rogueport posed were negated by the presence of the Koopa King.

"Looks like I'm the most useful one here," Bowser chuckled smugly to Mario.

"Shut up, Bowser," sighed Mario.

"You're just jealous I beat you!" snapped Bowser.

"I-I am actually," admitted Mario. "You've never actually beaten me in a battle before." He gulped in agony about what he was about to do. "G-go-good job," he managed to get out, holding out his hand.

Bowser shook it. "Er, thanks? I'm not entirely sure what to say in this situation, said Bowser.

"Guys," said Anderson. "I don't mean to break up this meaningful moment, but we're at the airport."

"Thank you two," Anderson said to the guest drivers. "Perhaps I'll see you later."

"Prolly," grunted Bowser.

"Perhaps," said the woman.

Finally, Toadiko gave into curiosity. "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" The woman paused for dramatic effect.

"I'm Lily, Queen of Sarasaland."

* * *

**A/N: What in the world was Daisy's mom doing there, especially considering she was the one Daisy missed the most? Also, dang, Daisy was executed! Goodness! I should note that the reason for Daisy getting such a long retrospective and the scene after existing was purely for word-count, but I think it added to the story and I plan on doing longer retrospectives in the future. So, let me know what you thought of the challenge, the execution, the chapter, the episode, and/or the identity of the Mole in a review please! I'll see you in episode 4!**


	13. A Rocky Start

_Episode 4 Part 1_

_The players have now faced mighty challenges. They have evaded hunters, escaped viscous creatures, and fought a mighty army. These challenges have forced them to grow together, as they have had to work, live, and play together. And while they had faced mighty challenges, no challenge proved to be as tough as answering a simple question:_

_Who is the Mole?_

_**Mona**_

_Surname:__ Martin_

_Birthday:__ August 16_

_Occupation:__ Game Designer/Cook_

**Mario**

_Surname:__ Mario_

_Birthday:__ May 22_

_Occupation:__ Plumber/Adventurer_

**Timpani**

_Surname:__ Bleck_

_Birthday:__ March 4_

_Occupation:__ Psychologist_

**Toadiko**

_Surname:__ Shroomose_

_Birthday:__ September 8_

_Occupation:__ Scholar_

**Mallow**

_Surname:__ Nimbus_

_Birthday:__ April 24_

_Occupation:__ Weatherman/Politician_

**Shy Guy**

_Surname:__ Maskio_

_Birthday:__ July 5_

_Occupation:__ Actor_

**Wolley**

_Surname:__ Ohtoad_

_Birthday:__ December 19_

_Occupation:__ Royal Assistant_

* * *

"Wolley," Toadiko said quietly. She gave him a gentle poke on the cheek in an effort to wake him.

"Rhino… rhino feeder," muttered Wolley, either asleep or apathetic towards his friend's efforts to wake him.

"Wolley," she said. Irritation was clearly present in her tone, but she clenched her dress, trying to keep calm.

"I was dreamin' about… muffins," grumbled Wolley. It suddenly became clear to Toadiko that he wasn't asleep, he was just ignoring her pleas.

Her hands snapped to Wolley's vest, her face red with rage. She yanked on his vest, pulling his face within inches of her. "Wolley, _wake up_!" she screamed.

Wolley's eyes snapped open. "I'm up! I'm up!" he shouted. Toadiko could feel his heart beating wildly with panic.

"Why won't you _listen_ to me?" huffed Toadiko, keeping her grip as tight as a vise.

Wolley leaned his head back and looked away. The feeling of extreme awkwardness was evident on his face. "A-anderson said we could nap, I just wanted to get some sleep," he explained. His tone sounded incredibly sobered compared to normal.

"We've landed," snapped Toadiko. She suddenly dropped him into his seat and turned away. "If you'd listen to me for once you would have quickly realized that." She stomped off the plane leaving Wolley to sit there in shock.

"He's up," grunted Toadiko, stomping down the stairs and onto the tarmac. After a moment, Wolley himself appeared at the top of the stairs. A few contestants recoiled upon seeing him.

_Timpani:__ Wolley looked really upset when he came out. As annoying as he is, I couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy. Sadness seems like such a foreign concept for Wolley, it must have been something big to get him like that._

Not a word was said to Wolley. Nobody seemed to know how to deal with Wolley when he was anything other than his usual self. This created an awkward silence until Mario finally spoke up. "So what are we doing back in Toad Town?" he asked, casting a nervous glance Wolley's way.

Anderson, who was a man used to drama, spoke with his usual enthusiasm. "Our next location is a little ways outside Toad Town and we need the services of a local travel agency," he explained.

"Travel agency?" asked Mallow. His tone was only reflecting confusion since his naïve nature led to him trying not to be bothered by Wolley's current state. "We just road in here on a private jet," he said, pointing back to said jet. "Why do we need a travel agency?"

"We're traveling to a place with incredibly treacherous roads and we need to transport a fairly large group, cast and crew combined," explained Anderson. "If we want to survive those roads, we need somebody very familiar with them." As the host's words lingered in the air, the players cast each other nervous glances. "Onward!" cried the host, marching eastward.

They were in what was referred to as Toad Town's "transportation district", an actually fairly desolate strip of highway two miles to the North of Peach's Castle. Many major forms of transportation came from that highway. The highway (called Amanita Lane) started at Grand Shroom Station and stretched seven miles to the East, branching off into several major highways, connecting to Toadstool International Airport, and of course hitting the travel agency that was so important to the contestants.

Toad Town, being the pedestrian friendly place that it is, had large sidewalks that ran on either side of the highway, giving the players a convenient place to walk. Toadiko trudged up next to Anderson. "So when do I get to know the answer?" she asked grumpily, not looking at the host.

Anderson cast her a brief sympathetic look before replying. "I'll let you know when the time comes," he promised.

* * *

_**Flashback:**__ Toadiko approached Anderson's seat on the jet nervously. "Hey Anderson," she said trying to sound as innocent as possible._

_ "I don't know who the Mole is and I won't tell you where we're going next or what the next mission is," dismissed the host immediately. He didn't even bother looking up from his copy of __Cthulu and You._

_ "Oh no, I knew that!" replied Toadiko. She giggled in a way that she thought sounded completely innocent._

_ "Drop the act, Toadiko, I know you want information," said Anderson bluntly. He put down his book and finally looked at the player._

_ "Fine, you got me!" admitted Toadiko, dropping the façade. "What was Daisy's mum doing there?"_

_ "We had… access to her, so to speak, so we let her take part in the show," said Anderson, obviously choosing his words carefully._

_ "Access?" asked Toadiko, tilting her head in confusion._

_ "Well she was in the area," said Anderson, trailing off nervously._

_ "Why?" pressed Toadiko, leaning over Anderson's seat._

_ The host calmly pushed her away, having cast away any nervousness. "I'm not exactly familiar with her affairs," he said bluntly._

_ "But how does one get 'access' to the Queen of Sarasaland?" asked Toadiko, her hand motions becoming exasperated along with her tone._

_ "That's enough Toadiko."_

_ "But!" protested the toad._

_ "That's enough." Anderson's tone was stern, causing Toadiko to back off with a sigh. She slunk off to her seat, attempting to come to a conclusion on her own, which she frustratingly failed to do._

* * *

A toad in ragged clothes sat across the highway holding a sign that said something along the lines of "THE END IS NEAR". Mallow happened to cast a glance in that direction as they began to pass the toad. He looked back in front of him for a moment before his head snapped back in the direction of the sign. "Huh?" he said bewilderedly.

"What's wrong?" asked Timpani, walking a little faster to get next to the nimbian.

"I could have sworn that sign said 'The Mole is Near'," he said, frequently glancing over at the sign.

Timpani looked over at it for a moment. "Indeed it does," she confirmed. Her eyes suddenly widened. "I remember seeing a sign like that in Petalburg!" she said suddenly, her tone becoming excited with realization.

"Now that I think about it," said Mallow, his face becoming one of realization. "I saw a sign in Mushroom City that said 'The End is Near', but I might have misread it." He suddenly got a joyful glint in his eye and snapped excitedly. "Looks like we've got a clue on our hands!" he cheered. He suddenly cast a nervous glance at his fellow contestants, but everyone else seemed to be either lost in discussion or their own thoughts and nobody had noticed the outburst. "Let's just keep this between us," he said to Timpani quietly.

Timpani nodded. "Agreed," she said quietly. Her brow was knit, a sign that she was beginning to think deeply. "What do you think it means?" she asked.

"I-I have no idea," sighed Mallow. His head fell in realization that he could no longer be helpful.

"That's fine," muttered Timpani, clearly not entirely paying attention. After ten or so seconds of silence, her face relaxed and she turned to Mallow. "I'll let you know if I think of anything, okay?"

Mallow grinned, happy to make a deal. "And I'll do the same for you! It's like a coalition, but just for one clue!"

Timpani raised an eyebrow. "You don't trust me?" she asked.

Mallow winked cheekily. "Of course not!"

Timpani chuckled quietly. "Nor do I trust you, cloudy!"

"Always the nicknames…"

Meanwhile, Mona and Shy Guy were having a discussion of their own. Shy Guy stared blandly out at the land to the North. Aside from the stray highway, all he saw was green, marshy land. It almost gave the illusion of rolling green hills if it weren't for the brown patches of water and the decidedly flat landscape. "I hate to say it, but the Mushroom Kingdom has such a boring landscape sometimes," he groaned quietly.

"How so?" asked Mona, who had strolled up next to him without him noticing.

"Bwah!" cried Shy Guy, jumping up in surprise. He looked up at Mona whose puppy-dog eyes were begging him to tell her. "I-I'll talk about it later," he muttered, suddenly feeling shier and vulnerable after being frightened.

Mona somehow managed to make her puppy-dog eyes grow even wider. "But, but you promised you'd tell me more!" she pleaded.

_Shy Guy:__ Mona's a nice girl, but sometimes I wish she'd leave me alone. Her excitable personality tends to make me feel even shier._

Shy Guy sighed, realizing he would have to speak up for a little while. "You're right," he muttered. "I did promise."

* * *

_**Flashback:**__ Mona leaned across the aisle to where Shy Guy was sitting. "Pst, Shy Guy," she whispered a little nervously, having not struck a conversation with the cloaked player much before._

_ He looked up from his magazine. "Hm?" he asked. He was a bit nervous, wondering why Mona was suddenly talking to him._

_ "Can you tell me what living in Darkland is like?" she asked quickly. "I don't mean to be rude or make you uncomfortable or anything, it's just that I grew up in Diamond City -you know, it's one of the Mushroom Kingdom's allied territories- so I grew up hearing the Darkland was just a nasty place where everyone was a murderous psychopath who wanted to destroy the Mushroom Kingdom. But you… you're nothing like that, you're __**nice**__! So thinking back on it, most of what I've been told is probably just propaganda and I'd like to know what Darkland is really like!" She took a few deep breaths to recover from saying such a large chunk of dialogue so quickly._

_ Shy Guy was taken aback by the question. Nobody had ever asked him about Darkland. Most people just assumed he wasn't from there. He thought deeply about the question, composing his answer for the first time in his life._

_ Mona mistook his pause for one of fright. "Oh, I said way too much didn't I?" she asked, afraid she had scared the little guy._

_ Shy Guy nodded as he was thinking. Mona's sudden, quick outburst of information __**had**__ startled him a bit._

_ "Omigosh!" cried Mona, panicking. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!" She started making flustered hand gestures._

_ "Don't worry about it," muttered Shy Guy. He was too interested in the question to feel awkward at the moment. Finally he spoke. "Well, Darkland is definitely a grittier kingdom than the Mushroom Kingdom," he began. "It's a place for tougher folks that's for sure, especially the cities. The 'murderous psychopaths' you mentioned are indeed there. If they notice any bit of weakness in you, they'll rough you up."_

_ "Then how'd you survive there?" interrupted Mona. Realizing the implications of what she had said, she began nervously fidgeting. "I-I don't mean to be rude, you just don't seem like the toughest guy," she said, hoping she hadn't offended him._

_ "No, you're right. I'm a bit of a softie," he admitted. He then paused for a moment with the sudden horrified realization that he was very much opening up to this girl._

_ "Are you alright?" Mona asked, waving a hand in front of his face._

_ Shy Guy snapped back into focus, deciding there was no harm in continuing at this point. "Well when I was a kid, I was protected by the fact that I'm General Guy's son. He said that if anyone hurt his boy, they'd feel his wrath." Shy Guy pondered on the memories of his father and chuckled a bit. "When I was really little, Dad even said he'd sick Bowser on anyone who dared harm me. I think he was exaggerating, but it made me feel so safe," reflected Shy Guy, suddenly feeling warm and fuzzy from the nostalgia._

_ "Wow, it sounds like your dad is really nice!" said Mona._

_ Shy Guy once again snapped into a more upright position, realizing he had gone too far with his discussion. "Er, yeah," he said, growing quiet again. "If you're on his side he's a great guy."_

_ "And if you're not?" asked Mona nervously._

_ "Let's not talk about that," replied Shy Guy, waving his hand like he was fanning the question away. "Anyways, once I reached high school and grew closer to manhood, Dad started to expect me to stand up for myself. So at that point I started talking even less, growing invisible among my peers. That's how I survived. Murderous psychopaths can't notice weakness if they don't notice you at all," he concluded._

_ "I-I had no idea you had to do that!" gasped Mona. She leaned over to him and gave him a sympathetic hug._

_ "Awkward! Awkward!" screamed Shy Guy, flailing his limbs in a desperate attempt to get out from Mona's grip._

_ Mona quickly let go. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked, looking at her arms like they were murder weapons._

_ Shy Guy took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's fine," he finally said. "Most people would appreciate it," he muttered, feeling somewhat bad for being so rude to Mona._

_ "Darkland still sounds kinda awful," admitted Mona._

_ "Well, once you get past the baddies, Darkland has an amazing culture," explained Shy Guy. "People in the Mushroom Kingdom don't seem to get that," he said with a hint of bitterness._

_ "Really?" asked Mona, leaning in to hear better._

_ "Yep. In Neo Bowser City, there's a huge street art scene. People in the Mushroom Kingdom view it as a bunch of hooligans spray painting things, but in Darkland, street art is respected as a true art form. There's a street in Neo Bowser City called Dragon Avenue, five blocks from where I grew up. A 300 foot long wall was built alongside the road and an artist was paid 300,000 coins to paint a mural there. He painted a beautiful scene depicting the first war between the Mushroom Kingdom and Darkland and called it 'Koopa Storm'."_

_ Mona gasped in surprise. "Koopa Storm is street art?" she asked in bewilderment. "But it's so beautiful! It's the kind of thing they teach you about in art school!" she exclaimed, making rainbow hand gestures. "It's just on the side of a road?" Shy Guy nodded, a smile forming as he realized she was starting to understand his point. "Hasn't anybody painted over it?"  
"Of course not," replied Shy Guy. "There's too much respect for it!"_

_ "Wow!" replied Mona, truly surprised by what she had learned. "Tell me more, please!" she begged, clasping her hands together._

_ "Perhaps another time," said Shy Guy, growing quiet again. "You seem tough enough to visit Darkland," he added._

_ "Hm," Mona said, pondering the idea. "That'd be pretty cool! I'm sure I could convince Wario to come sometime. Actually, while I'm there I could always drop by your place and say hi," she suggested casually._

_ "I-I don't actually live in Darkland anymore," admitted Shy Guy. He put his head down with the realization that that one point potentially contradicted his entire speech beforehand._

_ "Why not?" asked Mona, now incredibly confused._

_ "There's one major flaw in Darkland's culture," began Shy Guy. "The film industry there is just awful. The Mushroom Kingdom has its trashy teen romance novels, Darkland has trashy romantic comedies that are clearly about Bowser and Peach. And they're ten times as popular," he added with a shudder. "After starring in about five of those, I realized I needed to leave Darkland if I ever wanted to meet my full acting potential, so that's why I moved to Neon Heights."_

* * *

"Everything's just so… _green_," concluded Shy Guy.

"Isn't everything in Darkland just grey or brown?" Mario butted in.

"Bwah!" screamed Shy Guy once again, not having notice Mario walk up to him. "Well no!" he replied after getting over the initial shock.

"It isn't just green here," argued Mario. He tipped his cap up, something Luigi would claim was a sign he was getting defensive. "We have beautiful fields of multicolored flowers, babbling blue brooks, trees bearing fruit of all colors, and that's not even talking about the other biomes that we have, not just flat, grey landscape!" By the time he finished, Mario was clenching his fists in irritation.

"Mario, I know you don't like Darkland, but you need to chill," Mona soothed, patting his hands until they unclenched.

Mario grinned sheepishly. "Er, sorry about that Shy Guy," he said embarrassedly. "I'm sure you know I'm not the biggest fan of Darkland."

"I was just talking about the awesome lava flows," muttered Shy Guy growing especially quiet.

"Here we are folks!" announced Anderson waving a tentacle at their destination.

"Finally, my feet are killing me," grumbled Toadiko.

Their destination was a small, beat-up building sitting in the middle of a cracked parking lot. A large sign bearing the words "Thwimp's Thwomping Transport" stood to the right of the building and a beat-up old bus sat to the left of it. All in all it was a pretty pathetic looking place.

"This is a… travel agency?" asked Wolley, his face showing clear doubt.

"Of sorts," replied Anderson mysteriously. He walked away from the group and into building. Toadiko shot Wolley a quick glare that clearly wasn't just for questioning the host. The yellow-spotted toad cringed.

"Ahoy!" cried a Thwimp, emerging from the building. He wore a cowboy hat and had a black soul patch. There was a bit of an air to him that just seemed off. A few players caught on to this and nervously looked around, hoping to find somebody else that would be driving him.

"Players, this is Mr. Granite, he's driven through our next location countless times," said Anderson confidently.

"That's right!" squawked Mr. Granite, stumbling over to the beat-up bus and opening its door.

"We're riding in _that_?" asked Mona skeptically. She cast a wary look at the heavily dented, blue vehicle.

"Of course, this baby's brought me everywhere I needed to go safely!" replied Mr. Granite, patting the side of the bus.

Mona looked skeptically at the various dents. "Right."

"All aboard!" shouted Mr. Granite gleefully as he hopped into the bus.

Anderson approached the bus. "Come on!" he said impatiently to the players as he waved a tentacle.

The bus's tan inside walls appeared to be just as dented as the outside, if not _more_ somehow. Twenty rows of seats stretched down the bus. The seats were green, torn, and little smelly. The window seats in row eight had their headrests replaced with small monitors. The presence of these monitors, Mario concluded, was why the players were directed to sit in rows nine and ten. Mario and Mona took the right side of row nine, Toadiko and Shy Guy took the left side of row nine, Mallow and Wolley took the right side of row ten, and Timpani sat alone on the left side of row ten.

"Yeehaw!" cried Mr. Granite as he fired up the engine. The bus slowly creaked to life and pulled towards the highway, heading east.

Mallow turned to Wolley whom was simply staring blankly at the floor. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked concernedly.

Wolley slowly raised his head and looked at Mallow. "T-toadiko's mad at me," he managed to get out, still finding his voice.

Mallow looked up, trying to think of the right words to say in this situation. "I'm sorry, dude," he said honestly. "What happened?"

Wolley rested his head in his hands, clearly trying hard to relay the information calmly. "I was ignoring her when we landed, I just wanted to get some sleep," he said, his voice quivering. "Evidently I've done this before a-and now she isn't speaking to me," he moaned.

Mallow nervously gave him a pat on the back. "It'll be alright," he assured, trying to sound sure of himself. "Have you tried to talk to her about it?"

Wolley slowly shook his head. "That's a good idea," he muttered, sounding grateful through his upset tone.

Mallow paused for a long moment, once again thinking of what to say. "Wolley, everyone's worried about you," he finally said.

Wolley's eyes widened in shock. "Th-they are?" he asked, sounding truly surprised. Mallow nodded solemnly. "I had no idea," his tone turning from upset to disappointed in himself. "I'll try to act like my normal self," he promised, suddenly sounding determined.

"That's the spirit!" cheered Mallow, thoroughly pleased that he at least slightly cheered Wolley up.

Mr. Granite suddenly turned onto one of the many highways that split off from Amanita Lane, heading to the northeast. "Thwomp Volcano here we come, yeehaw!" he cheered.

"Thwomp Volcano?" gasped Mario, his face growing pale.

Mona cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What's wrong with Thwomp Volcano? It hasn't erupted in, what, 20 years or so. I doubt it'll erupt anytime soon."

Mario shook his head. "I know, it's just," he paused. "I remember the eruption so vividly."

"Were you there as a kid?" asked Mona.

"Well yes," said Mario, carefully trying to avoid explaining what happened, not wanting to have to explain his entire adventure through time. "And as an adult."

"Huh?" gasped Mona, growing even more confused. "But it didn't erupt when you were an adult!" she protested.

"Well it did erupt when I was an adult, just 20 years ago," he tried to explain.

Toadiko turned to the duo. "It was time travel!" she shouted.

Mona was too shocked to be phased by Toadiko's foul mood. "You _time traveled_?" she squealed, throwing her arms into the air. "That's so cool! Tell me all about it!"

Mario groaned, rubbing his temples. "Later," he promised. "I need to prepare to tell these kinds of stories."

Anderson suddenly stood up at the front of the bus. "Players, your attention please!" he shouted.

"You gots it!" cried Wolley in an effort to sound like his usual self. However, there was still a hint of emotional pain in his voice.

"We've prepared a small movie for your enjoyment as you travel," announced the host. "Please look to your monitors, enjoy, and pay close attention."

The players' heads snapped to the monitors in front of them where the film's title was displayed: Molesque.

"Mole: a small mammal known for its habit of digging tunnels." The words appeared onscreen accompanied by Anderson's voice. "_Or_, a particularly malevolent type of double agent whose habits include, but are not limited to: trickery, sabotage, theft, destruction, and the creation of drama."

The first scene opened on a poorly recreated version of Peach's throne room. It appeared the makers of the film tried to perfectly mirror the room with a ridiculously small fraction of the funds. The beautiful, marble walls were represented with cheap wallpaper, the elegantly carved columns with poorly cut pillars of Styrofoam. The representation of Peach's throne was simply a pink La-Z-Boy with some patterns painted on it.

A young woman with platinum-blonde hair, who only Mario and Wolley could identify as Rosalina, sat on the throne wearing a cheap, red dress.

The red-spotted, blue-vested Toad known as Toad approached the woman. "Princess Cherry, your new advisor is here," he announced. His voice was completely monotone and his movements were incredibly stiff.

_Mario:__ At first, I thought Toad was just a bad actor, but then it went on…_

"Bring him in," replied Cherry. Her acting was only slightly less stiff than Toad's, but still somewhat painful to watch. Toad walked off-camera for a moment and returned with a character played by Bowser wearing a fake moustache. Mario burst out laughing at the sight of it.

"Hello, ma'am. My name is um, my name is Truman," said Bowser, leaning forward in a way that made it all the more clear that he was reading from cue cards.

_Shy Guy:__ That movie was so bad it literally hurt. I was starting to get a headache from the bad acting._

Suddenly, the screens filled with static. Mallow stood up. "Anderson, the movie's broken!" he called impatiently. Anderson was silent, but oddly enough so were the other players. "Ander-," Mallow began again.

"Mallow, look," interrupted Mona, her tone reflecting her disbelief.

Mallow looked back at the screen and once he saw what the other players were looking at, he immediately sat down. "I-is that," he began, shocked.

"Jolene," breathed Timpani, poking her head between the seats in front of her to get a better view.

On screen, the static was starting to flash an image of Jolene. The interval between each flash grew shorter until finally the static was gone. She opened her mouth. The players were dead silent.

"Celery," said the Mole's first victim.

"What," blurted Toadiko. "What was that?" she snapped at the host, frustrated at not hearing anything important upon seeing Jolene again for the first time.

The screens abruptly cut back to the poor recreation of Peach's castle, though this was a different scene.

"Princess, we're receiving reports that Shadow Country is becoming more hostile!" said Truman plainly. He yanked on his moustache in a way that the players had to guess signified nervousness.

"Those uncultured, murderous psychopaths could wreck our glorious kingdom!" Princess Cherry said in a way that was clearly supposed to be angry, but Rosalina was cringing as she said the line. "Establish surveillance on their castle, we'll make sure they don't try to grow stronger!"

Suddenly the static returned. The players were absolutely silent, hoping to see Jolene return. After a moment, an image of coins flashed onscreen. Several players' faces fell upon seeing the inanimate objects as opposed to a player. Their faces suddenly turned to intrigued joy when suddenly the Mole's second victim flashed onscreen. The coins flashed on screen once again for a moment before the screen was finally dominated by the former contestant.

"Cauliflower," said Monty.

The coins flashed onscreen on more time before the monitor displayed the usual set.

A character played by Bowser Jr. in a suit walked in. "Princess Cherry," he said, attempting to put on a deep, serious voice and failing miserably. "I am Joseph, ambassador of Shadow Country. It has come to our attention that you are spying on our castle. We will give you one chance to stop peacefully. That is all." Ambassador Joseph left and Cherry paused for a moment, frowning with worry.

"Truman!" she called. That was perhaps the most well-acted line in the film. The mustachioed advisor stomped into the throne room.

"Yes, your majesty?" he asked. The words "your majesty" sounded highly unnatural coming from his mouth.

"They discovered our surveillance equipment. Check with our research groups to see if they can develop more discreet gear then install it in the Shadow Country's castle!" ordered Princess Cherry, failing to sound serious.

"This is so bad," muttered Mallow. He sounded ashamed to be watching it.

"Yeah," said Wolley, his head dropping. Right as he looked away from the monitor, the static reappeared, unbeknownst to the young toad. Unfortunately for him, right as he shouted "Hey Anderson, why are we watching this?" in his usual confident tone, Daisy appeared onscreen and said a word nobody heard.

"Wolley!" snapped Toadiko. "You made us miss what Daisy said," she shouted angrily.

Wolley's head fell between his knees and he lost his composure. "I'm sorry," he moaned torturedly.

Coins flashed on screen twice before returning to the usual setup. In this scene, Ambassador Joseph was standing in front of Cherry, acting angry. "We warned you!" he said. "You wouldn't listen to our reasonable deal so now I must declare war, expect our troops!" With that, the suited ambassador stomped out of the castle.

"Shall we plan our battle strategy?" asked Truman.

"Of course," answered Cherry. "I shall only inform you about it for the moment; you are my most trusted advisor."

The static returned for the last time, coins flashing onscreen three times before the monitors displayed the final scene.

"All of our troops were intercepted and wiped out," said Cherry, attempting to sound grim. "They must have found out about our plans."

Truman chuckled. "Of course they did!" This line was actually delivered fantastically, but it was really just Bowser acting like his normal self.

Cherry's head snapped up. "What?" she said confusedly, though lacking the fear that was supposed to be there. Bowser ripped off the fake moustache and Cherry gasped cheesily. "You're," she began.

Bowser cut her off. "That's right!" he roared triumphantly. "I'm King Bo- er King Trouser of the Shadow Country!" He pulled out a length of rope and began to restrain her. Mario noted how skilled he was at tying up people's limbs. "I hope you learned your lesson," he droned, referring to messing with his kingdom.

"I did," said Cherry, sounding pained because Bowser was literally tying her up. "Don't trust anyone. You never know who could be a Mole." The screen faded to black and the word "fin" appeared.

The players simply stared at their screens, shocked at the awfulness of the film they had just watched. Anderson walked down to their seats. "So," he asked, knowing perfectly well how good the film was. "What did you think?"

"That was crap," grumbled Toadiko.

"Who did you get to make this?" asked Shy Guy, anticipating the answer.

"An amateur group out of Darkland," began Anderson.

"I knew it!" shouted Shy Guy angrily. All of the players except for Mona gave him incredibly confused looks. "Sorry," he muttered, blushing as he sank deep into his seat. After a moment, he spoke up again. "Why didn't you get a better film crew? You already have one?" he said, truly perplexed as to why anyone would hire a Darklandian film crew. He pointed to the camera as he spoke.

Anderson shot him a quick warning look for breaking the fourth wall. "Well if we really wanted to make a high quality film, we would have had to actually _hire_ actors and nobody wants to pay for that! The four actors in that film volunteered and we had a fun afternoon filming it!" The host paused for a moment. Once he was satisfied that nobody would interrupt him he continued to speak. "Anywho, I'd like to ask you a few questions about the film. All correct answers will be worth 1,000 coins and if you get all the questions right, I'll throw in an extra 3,000 coins!"

Mona paled. "So this was all part of a mission?" she asked fearfully.

"Yes ma'am," replied Anderson, unfazed by the contestant's fear. "And you're up first! Tell me, what was the title of this film?"

Mona thought for a moment, resting her cheek in her hand. "Molesque," she said, lacking confidence.

"Correct!" replied Anderson.

"I was right? Yay!" squealed Mona, smiling with glee.

"Mario," said Anderson, turning to the plumber. "Who played Princess Cherry?"

"Rosalina!" replied Mario quickly.

"Correct!" replied Anderson.

_Mallow:__ Her name wasn't mentioned anywhere in the film. Interesting that Mario, who happens to have outside knowledge of her, was asked that question!_

"Mallow," Anderson suddenly turned to the nimbian. "What was the name of Bowser's character?"

Mallow thought for a second, stroking his chin. "Truman!" he said confidently.

"Incorrect," said Anderson, shaking his head. "That was his fake identity. His real name was King Trouser."

"But we knew him as Truman for the entire film!" protested Mallow.

"Sorry Mallow, you're wrong," said Anderson. "You will not earn 1,000 coins and you cannot earn the extra 3,000 coins."

Mallow sighed and dropped his head. "I'm useless."

"Wolley," said Anderson. Wolley moaned something incoherent in response. "What did Jolene say?" Wolley mumbled something incoherent once again. "What was that?" asked Anderson, cupping a tentacle to his ear.

"Celery!" grunted Wolley frustratedly.

"Correct!" replied Anderson, ignoring the toad's foul mood. "Timpani," he said, whirling to the human. "What did Monty say?"

Timpani pondered the question for a moment, attempting to recall what happened. "Cauliflower," she finally responded.

"Correct! Toadiko, what did Daisy say?"

"I don't know," said Toadiko, clearly frustrated. "I couldn't hear what was being said over _Wolley_!" she growled nastily. Wolley moaned loudly.

"Well 'I don't know' is obviously incorrect. The correct answer was 'Carrots'," replied Anderson. "Shy Guy!" Shy Guy shrank under the gaze of the host. "How many times did coins appear on screen?"

Shy Guy spent ten or so seconds pondering the question. "Nine," he finally answered, holding up the amount with his fingers.

"Incorrect, we were looking for eight," replied Anderson.

"Crap," muttered Shy Guy, snapping.

"Well," said Anderson. "You all got four out of seven questions right, earning you 4,000 coins!"

**Team Pot**

**79,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**4,000 coins**

**Result:83,000 coins**

**Possible:177,000 coins**

"Now that we've distracted you with that mission, take a look at where you are!" said Anderson, gesturing to the windows.

"Oh my!" gasped Timpani, pressing her face against the window. "It's marvelous!"

Like the marshland that Shy Guy had complained about earlier, Thwomp Volcano was very green. However unlike the marsh, it was far from boring. The bus was driving between two sheer cliffs. Both were teal and had Thwomp faces carved into them. In fact, it seemed as if every nearly vertical surface in the area had a Thwomp face carved onto it. Surprisingly, each face was unique, displaying a wide number of emotions and expressions.

"It'd be creepy if it weren't so impressive," commented Mallow.

The ground was covered by two distinct colors: the tough, yellow-green grass that occupied odd-shaped patches throughout the flatter grounds and the brownish-green patches of a mix between ash and soil that refused to harbor anything beyond the toughest of life.

The bus pulled out from between the two cliffs, only to emerge into an area where the left side of the road was a wall bearing an angry Thwomp face and the right side dropped off an unknown distance through the low lying clouds that hung below them. The sight intimidated some players, while others were drawn to the right windows, looking at the cloudy expanse below them. As they pulled around a curve, the contestants saw the sun setting, painting the clouds a fiery red.

"It's… _beautiful,_" sighed Mona, attempting to think of a hand gesture for beauty, but finally dropping her hands by her side and enjoying the view.

"We'll be at Obsidian Village in half an hour!" announced Mr. Granite, causing all the players to jump, clearly having forgotten he was there.

* * *

By the time the bus pulled into Obsidian Village, it was already dark outside, causing many of the greens to take on more of a relaxing blue color. Anderson led them into a large cottage called the Igneous Inn. In the lobby there was a table containing their luggage and seven keys. Anderson quietly handed out the keys, noticing the players had grown weary from the small bit of sleep they had gotten in the past couple days.

"Wolley and Shy Guy will be rooming together, Mona and Timpani will be rooming together, Mario and Mallow will be rooming together, and Toadiko will be in her own room," he announced. "Good night, players," he said sweetly.

As the players were retrieving their bags, Wolley approached Toadiko. "Hey, Toadiko, can we talk about this morning?" he asked, trying to sound like his usual self.

"Leave me alone," growled Toadiko, not looking at him.

"But!" protested Wolley.

"I said leave me alone!" screamed Toadiko furiously. Everyone, Anderson included, stared at her, shocked. "I don't want to hear from you, you asshole!" she screeched, holding a fist up to his face. "I don't want to hear from somebody who's constantly ignored my words for years! Just shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear any of your snarky comments, I don't want to hear your thoughts, whether they be to me or anyone else, I don't want to hear a single word from your stupid face!" she roared.

Wolley simply stood there for a moment, shocked. Then he did something absolutely no one expected him to do: he cried. "Why are you doing this to me Toadiko?" he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry!" Wailing, he ran into his room, slammed the door, and locked it.

Everyone stared in complete shock at Toadiko, not sure what to say. Finally, Mona angrily stomped over to the toad girl and furiously stared her in the face.

"What have you _done_?"

* * *

**A/N: Wow, I think Wolley's been broken...**

**Anywho, there's been some major improvements to the story! First (and likely less noticeable) is that I've actually started editing chapters before uploading them! Huzzah, slightly more professional! But I'm sure what you all noticed was the sudden increase in _detail_. Well, I have been very kindly provided advice from the one and only krisetchers (whose Mole stories I must recommend, read Traitor Aboard, Saboteur's Island, and Agent's Elevation!) which has helped me immensely with my writing. This added detail has made this chapter by far the longest and most well written (I hope) so far and I feel like it's allowed me to get out a lot of characterization I've been meaning to do!  
**

**So, I hope you liked this chapter. Please, let me know what you think of the added detail, the chapter, the mission, and/or the identity of the Mole in a review please, I'm always open to constructive criticism! **


	14. The Art of Riding Volcanoes

**Author's Notes: Well this is much later than the past few parts! Here are my excuses (true, but not necessarily acceptable) in chronological order: sickness, helping someone move, discovering Legend of Korra, finishing 11/22/63, discovering Vlogbrothers, reading _An Abundance of Katherines_, and Mario and Luigi: Dream Team finally coming out here in the United States.**

**I don't own Mario, or the Mole, or Mountain Dew, got it?**

* * *

_Episode 4 Part 2_

"Er, I suppose Wolley probably wants a room to himself," Anderson said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Shy Guy, why don't you room with Toadiko?" the host asked, pulling out another key.

Shy Guy shrugged, suddenly feeling the weight of the past few days on his shoulders. He exhaustedly grabbed the key and his bag off the table and made his way into his room. "Night," he muttered.

The rest of the group seemed to be too shaken by Toadiko's outburst to go to bed. Instead, the remaining players took seats in various places throughout the lobby. Mona sat right in front of Toadiko. Not having gotten a reaction to her angry question, she took on a gentler tone. "Toadiko, why did you do that to Wolley?"

Toadiko refused to look up at Mona, keeping her eyes locked to the floor. "He's an asshole," she grunted frustratedly.

Mona gently lifted Toadiko's chin until the toad girl was looking at her. "Toadiko, please stop being so angry. It's scaring everyone! We don't like to see you like this!" she pleaded, her face reflecting clear worry.

"I think seeing Wolley cry might have been even scarier," Timpani said loudly. Mario shot her a warning glance.

Toadiko looked up at the faces of each of her fellow players, her own face becoming slightly more horrified as she saw the worry present on each and every player's face. "I-I had no idea," she muttered," some of the anger and frustration fading to shock.

_Toadiko:__ I had been so mad at Wolley that I didn't even think about how my actions were affecting the rest of the group. I didn't realize how upset everybody was._

Mario was the first to detect the understanding on Toadiko's face and he quickly stepped up. "Toadiko," he said carefully. "Why are you so mad at Wolley?"

Toadiko took a deep breath and attempted to speak calmly. "He ignored me. Back on the plane I tried to wake him up and he rudely ignored me!" she said, growing frustrated. She took a deep breath to calm down again. "I know it doesn't sound like a big deal," she said before anyone could speak up. "But we've known each other for years and that's sort of been a running theme with him. It always seems like when I have something important to tell him, he won't listen, it has grown frustrating!"

The group paused for a moment, taking in her words. "I can see how that would make you mad at him," Mallow said sympathetically, though his face made it clear that he was struggling to decide whether he should sympathize with Toadiko or Wolley.

"Why were you so grumpy all day then?" Mona asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I don't know," sighed Toadiko, slightly frustrated.

Timpani, the psychologist, approached Toadiko. "This game has been really stressful for you hasn't it?" she asked, showing genuine concern yet also clearly knowing the answer.

Toadiko nodded slowly, becoming a little less frustrated. "Yeah," she confirmed quietly. "Every time somebody gets executed it puts me through a flurry of emotions. Not to mention the frustration of losing challenges," she said, trailing off.

Timpani looked up at Anderson and the contestants. "I think I need to talk with her one-on-one," she said seriously. "You all should go to bed." Not willing to question the psychologist, the players slowly crept to their bags and into their rooms and Anderson left Igneous Inn. Soon only, Toadiko, Timpani, and the cameramen (who weren't shooed out either because the players no longer noticed them or simply didn't care) remained.

Timpani took a deep breath. "Toadiko, I understand what you're going through. Having someone close to you refuse to pay attention can be one of the most frustrating experiences in life." She gave Toadiko a gentle pat on the shoulder as she continued. "I definitely know how you feel about the executions and challenges, you've seen me get frustrated before, these games are designed to make you frustrated, they want to create drama." Timpani's tone was sweet, but serious.

"Are you sure it's just the game getting to me?" asked Toadiko worriedly.

"Well you're definitely frustrated with Wolley," replied Timpani, casting a glance to said player's room. "But I think a lot of your anger is magnified by the game. We've seen it before when you fought the fuzzies, that anger was unusual for you. It was triggered by a particularly stressful part of the game," Timpani explained.

"I-I think I understand," said Toadiko, eyes glazed over in thought.

"So next time you get angry, just remember it's the game getting to you, okay?" propositioned Timpani.

Toadiko grinned. "Okay," she said, sounding much more like her normal self. She cast a glance at Wolley's door and her expression grew darker again. "I'm still mad at him," she muttered. "Like I said, he's ignored me countless times over the years."

"And it's fine if you are," said Timpani, slowly nodding. "But at least be civil with him; let him be happy, until you two make up."

Toadiko stared at Wolley's door, knitting her brow. "That's fair," she finally concluded. She suddenly jumped up and gave Timpani a big hug. "Thank you!" she cried.

_Toadiko:__ I'm so glad Timpani was there! She made me feel a lot more like myself!_

_Timpani:__ Never bring a psychologist to a game of drama. She'll crack it right open!_

* * *

Wolley groggily opened his door the next morning. "Bwah!" he cried in shock. Toadiko was standing right in front of him.

"Hey Wolley," she said, not waiting for him to get over the shock. "Listen, I'm still mad at you. You've ignored me more times than anyone could count and I think I have the right to be mad, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be civil with you, so sorry for screaming at you and stuff. Feel free to act like yourself," she said. The little speech came off as awkward and frustrated, but there was a hint of genuine forgiveness hiding deep within her words. She then turned on her heel and walked off to get breakfast.

Wolley stood there, confused for a moment. Getting a message like that a little while after waking up generally means it takes a moment to process. Finally, Wolley managed to say something. "Wait, what?" he shouted.

_Wolley:__ Okay, so I'm unbelievably thankful to not have Toadiko at my throat anymore, but it also makes me a bit nervous. I've only seen her as angry as she was at me one other time and Toadsworth had to hide for a week! Why did she let off on me so quickly…_

The yellow toad approached the breakfast table. Anderson turned to him from the head of the table. "Ah, Wolley! How are you faring?" he asked.

"Um, I'm cool I guess," replied Wolley, hopping up into a chair. He clearly didn't want to get any special attention. "Mona. Coffee," he demanded.

Mona (who had clearly already had four or five mugs herself) overzealously filled his mug to the brim. "HereyougoWolley!" she said on her caffeinated high.

Mario scooted his chair closer to Anderson. "So Anderson, what are we doing today?" Mario asked, eager for information. "Is the mission going to involve something like, oh I don't know, climbing the mountain, getting to the center of the volcano, or stopping an eruption?" he asked a little arrogantly.

"Nah," Anderson dismissed. "That stuff would be too easy!"

"It would?" asked Mario, a little shocked. "What makes you think it would be easy"

"You've already done it!" replied Anderson. "We can't have Super Mario just doing adventures for a second time!"

"How'd you know?" Mario gasped. He twiddled with his moustache curiously.

"We've done… a lot of research into our contestants, I can guarantee," said Anderson. "Don't try to be sly, Mr. Mario. We know what you've done and what you haven't!"

Mallow leaned over to Anderson. "Well do you know about the time that I saved the universe from evil space vipers?" he joked.

Mona's jaw dropped. "You did that?" she asked, her tone filled with wonder. Everyone else at the table simply face-palmed.

"Mario has a point, what _are_ we doing today?" Shy Guy asked quietly.

Anderson barely managed to hear the player. "What's with the urgency?" he asked, genuinely confused. "Sometimes you guys just want to kick back, but today you can't seem to sit still!"

"Well _I_ wanna see more of Thwomp Volcano!" said Mona, managing to calm down just enough to separate her words.

"Some, dinero wouldn't hurt," commented Wolley, his tone a little sober compared to his normal self.

"Well, I can guarantee you won't be earning any 'dinero' in the next challenge," replied Anderson.

"Huh?" asked Toadiko, sounding completely normal. "Why not?"

"It is simply impossible to win!" cackled Anderson, unleashing an evil laugh for a few seconds. All the players could do was stare, some in fear, some in confusion, and some in pure amusement. After a moment, Anderson paused to catch his breath. Finally his expression grew sobered and he looked out at the players' various expressions. "I kid," he said. "It's not a challenge for money," he revealed.

"Well what's it for then?" Mallow asked eagerly.

The contestants suddenly heard the roar of an engine outside. "Ah, looks like Mr. Granite is here to take us to the challenge!" said Anderson, quickly getting up before anyone could pester him about it. "Let's go, folks!"

* * *

"Come ooooon Anderson, tell me!" insisted Mona for the umpteenth time. "You're gonna tell us about the mission soon anyways, what's wrong with telling me early?"

Anderson rubbed at his temples, clearly annoyed. "Hey Mona, weren't you curious about Shy Guy's past or something?"

A few seats back, Shy Guys eyes widened. "Huh, what?"

Mona dove back into the seat next to him. "So Shy Guy!" she began.

"Nope!"

_Shy Guy: I'll get you for this, Anderson._

Mario took a deep breath. "Jeez, we're getting really high up!" he said, attempting to look to where the road they were on led to.

"Maybe we're going to the peak," suggested Wolley casually. "I guess that sounds like the kind of place where a challenge would be held."

"Maybe we'll go inside from there," Mario said nervously as he recalled the last time he ventured inside the volcano.

"Hey, it can't be that bad!" Mallow said cheerily. The high altitude didn't seem to be getting to him for obvious reasons. "Remember Barrel Volcano? Barrel Volcano was cool! Well… except for the dragon… and the fire," he trailed off, fear creeping up onto his face.

Across the aisle, Toadiko was staring out off the edge of the mountain. "It feels like this is the only landmass in the world," she breathed in awe.

Timpani looked out from the seat behind her. All she could see beyond the mountain was a sea of clouds and what little bit of anything visible beyond that was the ocean, truly creating the illusion that they were on the only piece of land around. "Wow," she breathed. "It's a little intimidating."

"You're trapped!" cackled Anderson who had overheard their discussion. He was about to start his evil laughter again when a glare from Timpani cut him off. "Spoil sport," he muttered.

The road the bus was travelling on kept leading them higher and higher until it was pretty much impossible to deny that they were in fact heading for the summit of Thwomp Volcano. After another minute of driving, the bus slowly pushed its way up the last hill onto the summit and parked only 30 feet away from the massive crater leading deep into the heart of the volcano.

Mona jumped off the bus and peered over the edge of the crater. She was met with the sight of miles of red, steaming rock. She dizzily threw herself back from the crater. "That's… intense," she muttered, awestruck.

Shy Guy dared not look into the volcano. "A-are we going in there?" he asked nervously as he backed away from the crater.

Anderson hopped up onto a ring of rocks lining the back side of the volcano. "Nah, I've got something a bit more fun in store for you! Come on!" he said, waving the players to follow. The humans and Wolley (who was a fairly good jumper) were able to get up the rocks without problem, but the rest of the players struggled to scramble up the Thwomp-faced boulder.

"Grah," grunted Mallow with effort as he pulled himself up. He wandered over to the northern tip of the mountain where Anderson was waiting with eight snowboards. He looked at the boards, then down the mountain, then back, and then to Anderson with a look of terror. "A-are we going to," he began.

"Ride these down the mountain? Precisely!" confirmed Anderson. Each player recoiled with shock.

"That's like the first challenge to the extreme," shuddered Mallow, backing away.

"Oh my," breathed Toadiko, frightfully covering her eyes.

"That actually looks kind of scary," admitted Wolley.

Timpani turned to the toad in shock. "_You_ think it's scary? You're Wolley Ohtoad! If there's one thing I've learned about you over these episodes is that you do not get scared by stunts! You should be thrilled!" she said, almost scolding him.

"Cut me some slack," defended Wolley, inching towards the edge. "I'm not quite myself."

Shy Guy was shivering in his boots when he looked up at Anderson. "S-so why would we want to do this?" he asked, his voice barely audible over his chattering teeth (not that he was speaking loudly in the first place).

"Remember when I asked you who you missed the most?" asked Anderson. His arms were crossed and he was smugly waiting to see the looks on the players' faces.

Mona seemed confused at first. "Yeah, what abo… oh my gosh!" she suddenly screamed upon realization.

"You mean my Blumiere is at the bottom of the mountain?" Timpani asked excitedly. Anderson nodded.

Toadiko's face lit up in realization. "So that's why Daisy's mum was there!" she said. Anderson simply winked in confirmation.

"So," said Anderson. "If you don't go, you don't see your loved one," said Anderson sternly. Mario stepped up, but Anderson stopped him. "There's a bit more to this though, it's a race!"

Shy Guy grew slightly more nervous. "Of course," he sighed.

"This just got much more interesting," said Mona, grinning and cracking her knuckles.

"The winner," Anderson said. "Gets an exemption."

_Shy Guy:__ Anderson has made the rewards outweigh my fears. That's pretty impressive for a challenge of this risk._

"And the loser gets a choice," he said ominously. "You can either choose to take a -1," he began.

Mona snorted. "Why would anyone choose that?" she said doubtfully.

"Because the other choice is to not get to see your loved one," Anderson said bluntly.

Worry started to creep over all the players' faces. "Oh."

_Mario:__ I've barely gotten to see Luigi between my last adventure and coming on the show. I need to see him._

Several crew members handed out helmets with goggles to each player and took the time to make sure they put on their headgear safely and were securely strapped into their boards. "This is a lot like snowboarding," explained Anderson. "Oh except try not to inhale the dust coming up from the boards, we're _pretty_ sure that stuff's poisonous." Several players immediately drew the collars of their shirts up as makeshift gasmasks. "Now then, on your marks!"

The players scooted towards the edge and truly took in the sight before them. Evidently the northern face of the volcano had been the one to really feel the brunt of the eruption. Unlike the rest of the volcano, this side bore a wide strip significantly smoother than the rest of the volcano. Most of the ground was a thick layer of dark red-green sediment that sloped steeply down the mountain, often reaching around a 65 degree angle, though sometimes leveling out to 30 degrees. The only obstacles were a few chunks of rocks with Thwomp patterns on them sticking out of the ground.

"I-I don't wanna do this. I don't wanna do this," whimpered Shy Guy to himself. Fear was causing his whole body to shake.

"Get set," called Anderson.

"It's not sliding, it's falling with style," Mallow said in a vain attempt to convince himself he was in his element.

"Go!" roared Anderson. Just as he had planned, his unexpectedly loud shout had startled each player enough that they failed to think about how terrifying the jump they were making was. That didn't stop them from noticing it on the way down.

"Nopenopenopenope!" cried Toadiko in terror as she quickly reached speeds much faster than what she saw in the very first challenge. She flailed her arms, not sure what to do.

Wolley was silent as he began his journey down. He was purely focused on the thrill of the ride, the insane speed he was traveling at, the epic mountain face before him, the clouds he was sure to blast through, and the pure adrenaline rushing through his veins. Suddenly a grin appeared on his face, perhaps the widest grin he'd had during the entire game. He cackled wildly with joy as he bent his knees, lowering himself and greatly increasing his speed.

Mario currently led the pack, though his larger stature prevented him from pulling too far ahead of many of the smaller contestants. That fact mas made glaringly evident when a yellow figure whizzed by him.

"Just what the doctor ordered!" Wolley cackled with glee as he sped by. Mario was caught off guard by the speeding fungi and thus had to flail around to keep his balance. Evidently flailing fat plumbers sliding down volcanoes are less aerodynamic than flailing cloud people sliding down volcanoes and because of that little bit of physics, Mallow soon slid past Mario.

"Haaaalp!" cried Mallow exaggeratedly, flailing his arms in terror as he sped up. He cast a pleading look calling for help to Mario as he slid by. He looked ahead to his left where Wolley was carving a serpentine pattern into the mountain face. Suddenly, the toad banked to the right, sending a wave of volcanic dust toward the terrified sentient cloud. "Not air pollution!" he cried with genuine concern, not realizing how comical the exclamation was. He quickly turned to the left in an effort to avoid the incoming cloud. He was successful in his effort, but his movement created another cloud stretching out to the left, which, despite Wolley's cloud fading fast, left Mario in a position where he was forced to pass through a nasty cloud of volcanic dust.

"Mama-mia," he groaned exasperatedly as he tried to cover his mouth. As the passed through the cloud, he managed to get a lungful of the poisonous smoke. He began to cough. It wasn't a light cough either, his lungs were eager to get the awful substance out and thus forced his to retch violently until he finally crashed to the ground with a nasty thud.

"You alright?" cried Mona (who passed through Wolley's cloud when it was pretty much gone) as she passed Mario. Her face reflected true concern, but she didn't bother stopping out of fear of a -1 or not seeing Wario.

Toadiko swerved out of the way of the fallen plumber. "Get up, please!" she cried concernedly without looking back. Her cry didn't reach the plumber's ears.

Shy Guy had to jump over the hero. His words didn't even manage to make it out of his mask.

Timpani saw him long before she got to him. "Come on Mario, I know you can get up!" she urged, fighting to concentrate on her trajectory.

_Mario:__ That fall left me with my limbs burning with pain. Nothing felt broken, but it was nothing short of awful. The only thing that got me up was the thought of the impending doom that awaited me if I didn't make it down._

With effort, Mario slowly pushed himself up onto his feet and began slowly sliding down. By that point, Timpani was already 100 yards ahead of him. He would have to work hard to catch up.

Unfortunately for the plumber, Timpani was starting to grow more confident on the board. She crouched lower with each passing second, going faster and faster. Shy Guy nervously glanced back and saw the human woman quickly approaching him. More nervous about a collision than being passed, Shy Guy swerved to the left, giving Timpani a clear shot down the mountain. She cheered gleefully as she was launched off of one of the large, carved stones sticking out of the mountain.

_Timpani:__ Sure, the challenge was dangerous. I easily could have broken something, but sometimes a lady has to live a little!_

Up ahead, Toadiko was fearfully attempting to keep her balance. She stared down at her feet, focusing on keeping herself from leaning too far in any direction. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't able to see the large ramp-like stone she was approaching until she was finally launched off of it. She looked down at the sudden distance between her and the ground. Her scream could be heard all the way down the mountain.

Mona used a ramp to jump ahead of Mallow. She strained her eyes to see the finish line at the bottom then sent a glare towards Wolley whom was twenty yards ahead of her. She crouched down as low as she could, sending her rocketing towards the toad. "Here I come Wolley!" she growled competitively.

Wolley looked back quickly, surprised to see someone get so close to him. He narrowed his eyes. "Not so fast, Mona!" he retorted, a competitive fire burning in his eyes. He suddenly turned sharply to the right, creating a cloud of volcanic ash that Mona had no choice but to blast through.

Mona began to cough violently, but unlike Mario, she managed to stay upright. She bared her teeth like they were fangs. "You'll pay for that dirty tactic!" she barked angrily. She swerved to the right, quickly nearing the toad. She swung her arm out in an attempt to grab him.

Wolley noticed the attack and wagged his finger at the human. "No fighting, Mona, remember?" he taunted.

Mona paused for a moment and grinned. "You got me, looks like you're going to win!" she conceded.

Wolley grinned back. "I guess so!" he said, ducking lower and going even faster.

Mona sighed as he zoomed off. "I suppose I really didn't have a chance," she muttered to herself remorsefully.

Wolley was finally able to get a good look at the ending. At the bottom of the hill, large quantities of ash had piled up to form a crude ramp. 20 or so feet past the ram was a checkered line signifying the ending, but more importantly, there were seven figures standing just past the line. Wolley stared at the second figure from the left before suddenly grinning with glee. He aligned himself with the figure as he got closer and closer to the ramp. Finally he hit the massive ramp and unleashed an equally massive shout. "Yvan!"

A toad four inches shorter than Wolley perked up. His cap sported dark blue spots and he wore a dark blue vest. He ran towards the ramp and leapt into the air.

"Booyeah!" shouted the Ohtoad brothers, high-fiving in midair.

"So. Much. Style," muttered a white Shy Guy.

Wolley quickly unstrapped himself from the snowboard and threw off the headgear. He hugged the younger toad. "It's great to see you, Yvan!" he cried happily.

Yvan rolled his eyes, but accepted the hug anyways. "Great to see you too, bro."

The next contestant flew off the ramp. "Wario!" she squealed.

The portliest of plumbers looked around confusedly. "Wa?" He was suddenly tackled by Mona as she landed.

The duo was sprawled out on the ground, Mona's nose comically pressed against Wario's. "Hiya boss!" she chirped excitedly.

Wario grumpily pushed Mona off of him and sat up. "Yo, Mona." He stood up as Mona removed her gear. "So what are you people trying to do here?" he asked apathetically.

Mona hopped up, eager to inform her boss. "We gotta find out who the Mole is!"

Wario stuck a finger up his nose, still clearly not caring. "So, what's the point of that?"

"Well if you know who they are you're more likely to win the whole thing and get all the money!"

Wario's eyes lit up and he quickly turned to Mona, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You can win _cash_?" he gasped excitedly.

"Yeah!" cheered Mona. "And the better we do on challenges, the more the winner wins! Up to 500,000!"

Wario's jaw dropped. "500,000!" he gasped almost in a trance at the thought of all the money. "Mona, if you can win this I'll give you a promotion!" he promised, excitedly tossing her into the air.

Mona cheerfully struck a pose in midair. "You got it, boss!"

A moment later, Mallow gracelessly fell off the ramp, landing face-first. An elderly frog sporting a massive, white beard and moustache hopped over to the fallen cloud. "You never were much of a jumper, were you?" he croaked. He sighed lightly when regarding the boy's jumping.

Mallow jumped up excitedly. "Grandpa!"

As the two began to catch up, a human woman shot off of the ramp. A man on the plateau perked up. He had navy blue hair, yellow eyes, and a shiny monocle. He wore a navy blue suit and a white cape that matched his white top-hat perfectly. He threw his jewled scepter to the ground and ran for the woman. "Timpani!"

Timpani (who had quickly shed her gear) ran for him, arms stretched wide. "Blumiere!" she cried passionately. Their embrace was accompanied the sloppy type of make-out television absolutely loves.

"Yuck," muttered Yvan, quickly shielding his eyes. Wolley chuckled lightly at his brother's innocence.

Toadiko was the next to come over the ramp. A toad with a blue cap, white spots, and blue glasses approached her. "Hello sister! It's great to see you, by boogity!" he said. His voice was steady, though it didn't hide his excitement.

"Hi Toadiko!" chirped Yvan. Toadiko shot him a glare. It was likely an unintentional one, one likely spurred by irritation at being reminded of the friend she was currently mad at while wanting to focus on her brother.

Yvan flinched and stepped back. "Yikes!" he piped, fearfully stepping backwards. "What's up with her?" he whispered to Wolley.

Wolley surprisingly wasn't fazed. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe he truly felt better. "It's nothing personal, bro," he assured the younger Ohtoad, patting him on the head. "Apparently I happen to be an asshole."

Yvan gave him a judgmental look. "Nice going, big brother," he said exhasperatedly.

Back over by Toadiko, Toadbert was scouting around the area, enjoying the scenery. "I say, this place is looking even more magnificent than 20 years ago, by boogity!" he exclaimed, still quickly moving around.

Mona quickly and suddenly rounded on him. "You time traveled too?" she asked excitedly. Her eyes grew oddly wide and she got right up in the toad's face. "Tell me _everything_!"

Toadbert began to back away, clearly creeped out. "I-it's a rather long story. Maybe another time!" he said, scurrying over to Toadiko before Mona could ask him anything else.

Shy Guy finally emerged from over the ramp. His eyes shining with fear until he touched the ground, when he suddenly grinned in triumph. "Yes, not dead-last!" he cheered, spiking his helmet into the ground victoriously.

The white Shy Guy walked over to him. He was fanning himself with his comically large, white hat. "Real classy, son," he said sarcastically.

Shy Guy looked down in shame at his father's scorn. "Sir, yes sir," he muttered.

Finally, surprisingly close to Shy Guy, Mario came rushing off the ramp sporting a bit more tattered clothes than when he began and a disappointed expression. That expression immediately brightened when he saw the final of the guests lurking shyly. "Weegee!" Mario cried, throwing off his gear.

The twins ran towards each other, arms outstretched. Luigi grinned widely. "Mari-AAAAAHH!" he cried, suddenly being scooped up into the air by a shadowy figure.

"Not so fast!" snapped Gloombadrick. He held Luigi by hooking his feet under the Green-Mario's armpits.

Luigi flailed fearfully as he was dragged higher into the air. "Wha- wher- why- how- who are you?" shouted Luigi.

"Name's Gloombadrick, Anderson's assistant," Gloombadrick answered politely. He stopped ascending once they were out of Mario's jumping range.

Luigi bit at his fingernails. "Wh-who's Anderson?" he stuttered.

"That would be me," replied the host of question from behind the group. Everyone quickly turned to face him.

"Where did you come from?" Wario barked.

"It's like he came out of nowhere," observed Lord Blumiere.

Timpani put a hand on his shoulder. "You get used to it," she said tiredly.

"Mario," said Anderson, ignoring the guests' comments. "You were the last one down the mountain and in addition to looking incredibly filthy," he commented whilst eyeing the plumber's clothing, "you must choose: take a -1, or let us whisk your brother far away from here."

"This guy is gonna carry me away?" cried Luigi, panicked. Gloombadrick rolled his eyes.

_Mario:__ I can handle a -1, right? Luigi better be thankful for this._

Mario held out his hand. "-1 please," he ordered.

Anderson handed him the card saying, "It's your funeral. Well, execution to be more accurate." He grinned for a moment before seeing the glares on several players and guests' faces. He walked over to Wolley, carrying a green card. "And, Mr. Ohtoad, I believe I owe you and exemption!" He handed Wolley the card.

"Sweet!" cheered Wolley, leaping into the air.

"Hey, can you let me down?" Luigi gently asked.

"Oh. Right." Gloombadrick gently lowered Luigi to the ground.

"Freedom!" cried the plumber, running over to Mario.

"Chill, dude," muttered Gloombadrick.

* * *

The players were turned loose for the afternoon; Anderson saying something along the lines of, "I can do a lot of harm to you all, but I suppose I can't keep you away from your loved ones." Mario and Luigi were lounging in the main square of Obsidian Village and Mario filled his brother in on what had happened so far.

"It really stinks that Daisy got exeliminated or whatever," Luigi sighed dejectedly, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Indeed," agreed Mario. "Though I don't know why _you're_ so sad. You two probably went on like a billion dates while I was on my adventure!"

"Wh-what? Of course not! We wouldn't be having fun while the kingdom was in danger!" stammered Luigi. Mario gave him a knowing look. "At least not that much," Luigi admitted, sheepishly grinning.

Blumiere and Timpani approached them. "Mario brothers!" called Blumiere jollily.

The bros. jerked away from their conversation. "Hey!" said Mario, waving.

Blumiere grabbed Mario's hand and shook it vigorously. "It's great to see you guys now that we're on the same side!"

Timpani waved. "Hello Luigi," she said pleasantly.

Luigi, being his awkward self, simply flopped his hand into the air. "H-hey!"

"So," said Timpani, addressing the whole group. "We were looking at some guides to the area in the Inn and it seems that a nearby village has a tennis court, would you care to play a match?"

Mario jumped onto his feet. "You bet!" he said excitedly.

Luigi lazily got up. "Sure, sounds fun!" So the group began to hike down a narrow, dusty road in the sweltering heat. The road led to the southwest and generally kept away from the edge of the mountain, much to everyone's relief. They eventually came upon a long tunnel which provided a good shelter from the sun's heat, but also (and certainly less good) the sun's light.

"Jeez, it's darker than Castle Bleck in here," commented Blumiere.

"Hold on a sec," ordered Luigi casually as he fished in his pocket. After a moment, he whipped out a flashlight, providing a decent bit of visibility.

"Why do you have a flashlight?" asked Timpani, making some sort of confused gesture that would have been seen had Luigi been pointing the light at her.

"Eh, I've learned to always be prepared for dark places," Luigi explained, pointing the light at the couple.

"But the producers made sure we didn't have anything other than clothes and," he paused to hold up his scepter, "canes," he said bewilderedly.

Luigi held the flashlight under his face. "I'm _always_ prepared," he said in a faux-creepy voice.

Blumiere chuckled charmingly. "Well if you are worried about bad things getting you, you should probably be wary of your brother," he said.

Luigi quickly moved the flashlight over to Mario who just stared in Blumiere's direction curiously. "Huh?" asked the younger Mario bro.

"He's obviously a Mole," Blumiere warned.

Luigi looked at Mario, shocked. "Mario? No way!"

"You never know, Weegee!" Mario said, making a creepy face. Everyone laughed for a brief moment. "I wouldn't be so quick to accuse, Blecky. Your wife is pretty moley!"

Luigi shined the light on Timpani as Blumiere stared at her. "My Timpani?" he asked defensively. "Why that's absolutely cra-," he suddenly paused for a moment before looking over at Mario. "Actually, I could easily see that."

"Honey!" protested Timpani.

"I'm not saying you're a traitor!" defended Blumiere. "You're just rather crafty!"

Timpani accepted this and shrugged. She then suddenly cried out, "I can see the exit!" joyfully.

Luigi sighed happily. "The light at the end of the tunnel," he said, flipping off his flashlight.

* * *

Wolley and Yvan were lounging in the lobby of the Igneous Inn when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed Wolley by the shoulders. "Gah!" he screamed, whirling around.

"I got you, by boogity!" chuckled Toadbert.

"Why you little," growled Wolley before Yvan cut in.

"What my brother means is 'Good to see you, Bert!'" he said, putting a hand on the yellow toad's shoulder.

"Right," muttered Wolley. "What are you doing here anyways? Shouldn't you be with Toadiko?" he asked, genuinely curious, not judgmental.

"She's changing out of her volcanically-stained clothes," explained the intellectual toad. "I'm taking this opportunity to see how you're fairing," he said politely.

Wolley smiled a bit. "Thanks, Bert. Well, I'll admit having your best friend be pissed at you for something that is definitely your fault really sucks. And I miiiight have cried on national television over her screaming at me," he admitted, cringing.

Yvan began to laugh uncontrollably. "No effing way, bro! You embarrassed yourself on TV, good job!"

Wolley flicked Yvan's nose. "Can it, squirt." He turned back to Toadbert, regaining his normal, laid back posture. "But now she says we'll be civil and I don't really do the whole mopey emo thing, so I'm actin' like my regular funny-guy self, so I guess I'm fine and all that jazz." His finish came out a bit awkwardly, but he didn't seem to care whether or not he got his point across.

"That's good," said Toadbert, adjusting his glasses. He failed to let on whether or not he believed Wolley was really fine. "A word to the wise though: let her make things better and don't approach her until she does. See you later!" And with that, he scurried back to where his sister was likely waiting for him.

"Thanks, man!" called Wolley. The Ohtoad brothers sat for a moment in silence.

Finally, Yvan spoke up. "I can't believe you cried on TV."

"Shut up, Yvan."

* * *

In a small café in the corner of Obsidian Village, two men were locked in an epic duel. Mallow and Shy Guy stood merely as onlookers, marveling at the battle taking place before them. Mallow nudged Shy Guy. "My grandpa is totally gonna win," he whispered.

Shy Guy knit his brow. "No way," he said defensively. "Chess is just like military strategy, my dad's got this."

Frogfucius slid his last remaining bishop across the board, claiming one of General Guy's pawns. "Did you see that sick move?" Mallow taunted quietly.

General Guy's knight took one of Frogfucius's pawns. "How about that?" replied Shy Guy smugly.

Another one of Frogfucius's pawns took General Guy's knight. "Take that!" snapped Mallow loudly.

Frogfucius, without looking up from the game, said, "Listen Mallow, I know hold me in high regard, but could you hold me in high regard quietly?" Mallow slapped his hands over his mouth. "Thank you," Frogfucius said calmly.

Shy Guy chuckled at the nimbian's misfortune.

"Take what he said and apply it to you, son," said General Guy. Shy Guy's hands flew over his mouth.

* * *

Wario wiped his brow as Basalt Town finally came into view. "Finally!" he grumbled. He looked over at Mona, annoyed. "You should have told me this place was so far!" he grumbled.

"Sorry boss," sighed Mona. "But hey," she said, suddenly perking up. "We're here!"

They strolled into Basalt Town, keeping an eye out for the destination they had in mind. The found it without much trouble, but upon finding it, trouble was inevitable.

Wario's fists clenched. "Maaaaaaaariooooooo!" he roared angrily.

Mario whirled around with surprise, leaving himself open to completely miss Timpani's wicked serve. Mario glared at the pudgier plumber. "What are you doing here Wario?"

"Oh boy," sighed Mona and Luigi simultaneously.

"Well, Mona and I were going to play some tennis, but we didn't expect to see _you_ here!" he grunted rudely.

Mario folded his arms and turned back towards Timpani and Blumiere. "Well that's just too bad."

Wario took a step towards the court. "Mario, I challenge you to a match!"

Mario whirled around again, once again missing a serve. The rival plumbers glared intensely at each other, not breaking eye contact. "Do you guys mind?" Mario asked, not looking away from Wario.

"Nah, I'm beat anyways," admitted Timpani, her relaxed tone in stark contrast to the tension between the two rivals.

Luigi looked between the two nervously. "G-go for it."

"I've gotta tell the other players about this!" Mona suddenly exclaimed, dashing out of the village.

Wario took his place on the court and snarled at Mario, "You're going down, punk!"

Luigi suddenly jumped to the sideline and used his best imitation of an announcer's voice. "Set: 1, Game: 1!" he announced.

Mario tossed the ball into the air and hit it with all his might. "Yahoo!"

* * *

Mona burst into Obsidian Village's café loudly causing both chess players to jump in surprise, knocking over most of their chess pieces. Shy Guy and Mallow looked down at the board in horror. "Mona!" they shouted angrily.

Toadiko and Toadbert had come in to watch the game and both gave their own disappointed looks. "Nice job, Mona," sighed Toadiko.

"Guys! Epic tennis match! Wario vs. Mario! Basalt Town! Come on!" each sentence had a desperate gasp in between it, but she still managed to sound excited.

General Guy shrugged. "So do we call it a tie?"

Frogfucius nodded wisely. "Indeed we do, great match!"

"Come on!" insisted Mona. Everyone (albeit slowly) got up and left the café with Mona. Out in the main square, she saw Wolley and Yvan sitting on a bench. Mona quickly ran up to the brothers. "Hey Wolley!" She looked down at his hands. "Oh sweet, Mountain Dew!" she chirped, happily snatching the full bottle from his hands and chugging the whole thing.

Wolley stared down at his hands with severe disappointment. "My… my Mountain Dew!"

"BigepictennismatchbetweenWandMatBasaltTowncomewat chnow!" Mona shouted, the caffeine quickly kicking in. Wolley, who was fluent in hyper-speak, got the message and began to make his way down the path to Basalt Town.

"My Mountain Dew," he lamented.

* * *

"The score is one set to one set!" announced Luigi as the crowd began to stream in. "Here we go folks, Final set, Game: 1!"

Wario served the ball with a wicked spin. "Have a rotten day!" he shouted. Mario returned it excellently, but Wario easily continued the volley. These two were experts after years of playing and neither would let the volley end soon. As they continued on, they began hitting the ball harder, until their hits were mere instants apart. Finally, Wario managed to hit the ball into the doubles lanes.

"Crap," sighed the yellow-clad player.

Predictably, the entire crowd (minus Mona) was on Mario's side and he received a rousing applause. However, after the next point, it was Mona's turn to cheer, though a tied game wasn't the biggest cause for celebration.

The set carried on like that for the rest of its duration, always a close, if not tied, score. Finally, after nearly an hour of playing, Mario and Wario found themselves in a tiebreaker game, with the next point winning the whole thing. Even Luigi abstained from using his announcer voice, allowing the tension to quickly rise.

"Take this!" shouted Wario, serving at full force. Mario managed to hit it back, but the shot was high and Wario took the opportunity to slam the ball down. Mario ran to the far left and back of the court, managing to hit the ball as he dove. Wario had to run to the right to get to the ball and he sent it all the way across the court. Mario, however, anticipated the move and was right there to hit it back. Wario barely returned the ball with a dive, but it gave Mario the opportunity to spike the ball and after the first bounce, it flew way over Wario's head. Mario had won the match.

"And the winner is Mario!" cheered Luigi, dropping his announcer's voice. The crowd (minus Mona) swarmed him and put him up on their shoulders. So, Mario got to ride on a chariot of fans back to Obsidian Village, while Wario was forced to walk.

"Gee, nobody's gonna say good game or anything?" grumbled Wario.

"You did great!" cheered Mona, running to his side.

Wario hardly seemed to notice her. "I hate it when people just abandon me like that."

"You still have me!" protested Mona.

Wario looked over at her. "Yeah, I suppose I do," he said with the tiniest hint of gratefulness in his voice. He thought for a moment. "Can you throw Mario off the mountain?"

"Anything for you, boss!"

Wario chuckled heartily and patted her on the back. "Ya really are there for me!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Woah! Longest chapter! This was actually completely unintentional. I meant for there to just be a brief dinner scene after the challenge, but then I realized that they had breakfast right before the challenge and I would be skipping most of a day, so then tennis happened!**

**I'd like to address a grievance made by Princess Toady about last chapter. I completely see what you mean, yikes I didn't even think about that when writing it! And yeah, they kind of did another 180 in this chapter though whether it's for the better or for the worst I can't be sure. The point of Toadiko becoming a hysterical fury and Wolley going all emo wasn't to change them, a minor point of that was to show that things can push them over the edge and make them act totally different (like real peoples they have a breaking point) and of course there had to be drama in a reality show. The main point however, was the change in their dynamic, which could potentially be a game-changer, we'll have to see!**

**Oh and about Shy Guy, I just like writing his dialogue and I like writing about Darkland, so it's hard to make him shut up sometimes XD, so thanks for catching me on that!**

**Anyways, next chapter will hopefully take a shorter amount of time than this one did, though probably longer than the other recent ones due to the fact that I'd like to finally update my Paper Mario fic.**


	15. Batfeh Begins

**Author's Notes: Oh jeez, it's been ages! To be honest, school's been insane and while I've had the free time to work on this, I've rarely had the motivation to put that much effort into anything else. But hey, here we are with another part of episode 4, I hope you enjoy!**

**Also, this chapter does jump around a bit in time. I try to clear things up by saying when each section happens, so I hope it won't be confusing.**

_Episode 4 Part 3_

_Timpani:__ I think tonight's dinner was the most harmonic moment we've had in a while. People were just so happy to see old friends and relatives that they didn't even focus on petty rivalries. It was quite relaxing not to have Mario and Wario shouting at each other._

Dinner was held in a charming little pizza joint in Basalt Town. The whole place was made out of stones (volcanoes and wooden buildings certainly don't mix well) with Thwomp faces on them, though fortunately it seemed like the faces had been carved off on the inside, getting rid of the potentially awkward situation of eating as a giant stone face stares at you. The walls were painted a cool blue color similar to the underground areas surrounding Toad Town.

"Do you guys really cook with lava?" Mona asked the waiter, her face showing a childlike curiosity.

The waiter, a rather small whomp, grinned. "Sure do, miss! Adds some nice flavor!" he pronounced flavor _flay-vah._ "It lights the place too!" Everyone looked up nervously, uncomfortable with the idea of lava above their heads.

Luigi took a small bite of his pizza before turning to Anderson. "S-so are most challenges like the one today? Are they that crazy?"

"Nah," replied Anderson, drawing out the word like Luigi was completely and utterly incorrect. "Most of the missions involve more relaxing things like saving Princess Peach, or fighting off the entire Koopa Troop, nothing major!"

Luigi's jaw went slack. "Mama-mia."

"Surprisingly enough, you get used to it!" said Mallow, his voice upbeat. "Well, actually you don't really get used to the terror, but it's still fun!" he said, not realizing that he completely failed to make his point.

"Sounds like it's making you all tough!" said General Guy, pounding his fists together.

Wolley flexed a bit. "You bet!" he said confidently.

General Guy thought for a moment. "Perhaps I could get some ideas from this show to train my soldiers."

"Nonono!" shouted Wolley, waving his arms in panic. "I take it back! This stuff makes people weak! No need to train your _soldiers_ with this stuff!"

"Bah, that's more like hero training anyways," admitted General Guy.

"These missions sound… interesting," mused Wario. He was trying to sound calm, but it was clear that he seemed a bit jealous of the players. "Red one!" he barked. Mario immediately looked up from his pizza in confusion. "You'll have to tell me about the game next time we're playing sports together!"

"Is Wario being friendly?" gasped Toadiko, shocked. Wario didn't seem to hear her fortunately.

"I can tell you!" chirped Mona hopefully to her boss.

Wario shrugged. "Sure, whatever," he said offhandedly. Mona looked a bit disappointed.

_Shy Guy:__ I felt kinda bad for Mona. Wario just kept being apathetic towards her even when she was trying her best to help him out. I'd call him out on it, but I kinda really hate confrontation._

"So," began Blumiere. His commanding voice made everyone grow quiet and look to him. "Won't it be interesting to find out that someone we care deeply about was lying for weeks on end?" he asked, looking suspiciously at the players.

"Indeed," Frogfucius mused. He stroked his beard while looking at Mallow. "I suppose it really could be anyone."

"It's not Mario!" piped Luigi confidently. At that, Blumiere chuckled.

"He seems innocent enough as your brother, but once you've been his enemy, you can see how he could do that." General Guy nodded in agreement.

Yvan shrugged. "I guess so, but it obviously can't be him," he said, crossing his arms.

Toadiko put down her drink and leaned forward to see the young toad. "Why not?"

"It's obviously Wolley," he said, nodding towards his brother. "How could it not be him?"

Toadbert rubbed his chin for a moment. "Yes, that's quite reasonable, by boogity!"

"Bert!" gasped Wolley, feeling betrayed. "You can't just assume that! Innocent until proven guilty, man!"

"Isn't that something the Mole would say?" asked Mallow, shrugging.

"Plus that's an awful strategy," commented Timpani, casting a suspicious glance his way.

_Timpani:__ Oh and it was also fun to accuse Wolley of being the little Mole he is._

"Fine," conceded Wolley, holding up his hands. "If you think I'm the Mole, go ahead and think it."

"Gah!" cried Timpani, grabbing her head. "There's potential for, like, infinite amounts of reverse psychology in that sentence!" Wolley simply grinned smugly.

Frogfucius stopped snacking on crickets for a moment. "Goodness, this game sounds like an excellent exercise for the body _and_ the mind!" he said, stroking his beard.

"Sometimes it's too good of one, grandpa," commented Mallow.

"It's like a test seeing how much fear and stress it takes to break you," Toadiko added, her expression being that of remorse.

"It's kind of like a puzzle," Shy Guy said quietly.

"He's good at puzzles!" Mallow suddenly exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Shy Guy. "He'll defeat us all!" That got a laugh out of several people at the table.

After a moment, Mario spoke up. "That's actually a good point, how can we expect to beat him if he's not the Mole?"

Wolley summoned his creepiest grin and stared at Shy Guy. "It's simple. We, uh, kill the Shy Guy." Shy Guy laughed nervously and leaned away from Wolley. Wolley slammed his hands on the table and leaned closer to Shy Guy. "That's right, fear me! _Fear me!_" he roared.

Timpani and Yvan both rolled their eyes. "Shut up, Wolley."

* * *

The next morning, Mona emerged from her room groggily. She squinted at the bright light that filled the lobby of the Igneous Inn. "Jeez, I must've gotten up early," she grumbled sleepily. "What time is it?" she asked no one in particular.

Wolley was currently lounging on a couch in a corner by the window. He looked up at her amusedly. "Mona, I hate to break it to you, but it's eleven o' clock and you're still in your jammies."

Mona suddenly looked around, shocked. "Seriously?" she shouted, kicking her bunny slippers back into her room before quickly following them. After a second, she peaked back out (fully clothed, mind you) and said, "Wolley, are you wearing a sweater?" judgmentally.

"It's cold!" defended Wolley, crossing his arms.

"We're on a freaking volcano!" shouted Mona, waving her arms to the world around them.

"Well there's air conditioning!" replied Wolley meekly.

"Wolley, these jammies are thinner than your sweater and I'm sweating buckets. Take off the damn sweater!" she ordered.

"No!" Wolley said stubbornly.

Mona marched over to Wolley and grabbed a hold of the sweater. The two contestants locked eyes for a moment before Mona yanked. Being the significantly smaller being, Wolley didn't stand a chance and the sweater was pulled over his head. Fortunately he was wearing a vest under it (though it had gotten incredibly sweaty), but that wasn't the subject of Mona's interest.

"What's that?" asked Mona, looking at a patch of permanent marker on his left bicep.

Wolley's hand slapped over the mark. "Nothing!" he said defensively.

Mona thought about it for a moment. "Was that Batman?" she finally asked.

Wolley groaned and removed his hand, revealing a poor (to be generous) drawing of Batman. "Yes. Yes it is." He paused for a moment and when Mona didn't say anything, he explained, "I was all hyper from soda last night and thinking about Batman, so I thought 'Hey, I'll make a cool Batman drawing on my arm, it'll be like a cool tattoo!' It turns out I'm not a good artist. At all."

Mona began to laugh. "Wolley, that's both the worst and best thing ever!"

"Uh," muttered Wolley self-consciously.

Mona laughed for a few seconds in a way that sounded a bit birdlike before she finally calmed down. "Why don't you just wash it off?" she finally asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"It won't wash off!" cried Wolley, panicked. "And I'd rather not have people see-," he trailed off, staring at the camera a few feet away from him. "Oh great!" he shouted sarcastically. "Well I guess there's no reason to hide this monstrosity anymore," he groaned, though his voice was becoming a little more cheerful.

"Plus a day in that sweater and I'm pretty sure you'd be dead!" added Mona, laughing again. Once she stopped her squawking, she gave Wolley a confused look. "Hey, since when were you self-conscious about anything anyways?"

"Oh, I'm willing to make a fool out of myself," said Wolley, chuckling lightly. He pointed to the drawing. "But there's a limit!"

Toadbert waltzed in through the front doors and quickly caught sight of the two players. "There you two are!" he said. "Everyone has been quite curious as to your respective locations," he said, adjusting his spectacles.

"Hey, Bert," mumbled Wolley, moving his hand towards the awful drawing. Mona slapped his hand away.

"So what have you- goodness, what is that?" exclaimed Toadbert upon seeing the Batman.

"It was supposed to be Batman," admitted Wolley.

"I'm afraid you can't call it a Batman," said Toadbert gravely, like he was telling someone they had an illness. "It's more like a Batfeh."

"What's feh mean?" asked Wolley confusedly.

"It's an expression of disgust," explained Toadbert.

Wolley placed his hand over the Batfeh. "Jeez man, that's harsh!"

"Well you're stuck with it, so embrace it!" laughed Mona, prying his hand off of the drawing.

"Now would you two please come outside?" questioned Toadbert.

Wolley hopped off the couch. "Sure, why not?" he said, trying to sound confident. They walked outside where the entire group was spending their leisure time.

"_There_ you guys are!" said Mario. Everyone else suddenly turned to face Wolley and Mona.

Mallow was the first to see the drawing. He walked up to Wolley saying, "What's that on your arm?" and pointing to said thing on his arm.

"It's the Batfeh," Wolley replied simply.

"It was supposed to be a drawing of Batman," explained Mona, managing not to laugh.

Yvan ran up and inspected the Batfeh closely. "Bro, I didn't realized how good your artistic talents were," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, revel in its glory!" ordered Wolley.

Fortunately for Wolley, nobody else seemed to care about the Batfeh enough to walk up to him, but as that morning's conversations went on, he noticed people staring at it. It was almost like their eyes were drawn to it.

* * *

"Na na na na-," the sound was almost like a buzzing in Wolley's ear. "-Na na na na-," Wolley tried his best to ignore the sound. "Na na na na na na na na." Wolley, finally unable to ignore it, turned around to face the sound. "Batfeh!" shouted Anderson, knocking Wolley off his feet in surprise.

"Gah!" shouted Wolley in shock.

"What's wrong Wo- where did he come from?" shouted Luigi, jumping back from the mysteriously appearing blooper.

"Well, Luigi," began Anderson. "I'm simply everywhere." Luigi gave him a fearful look. "I'm kidding!" he chuckled. "Anyways players, you have another mission coming up, so gather 'round!"

"But we have relatives here!" protested Mallow, reluctantly leaving Frogfucius's side.

"Yes, well we also have a Mole here and I think they'd like a chance to sabotage!" He paused for a moment. "Or a chance to look good," he added. The players groaned and gathered around Anderson while the guests simply listened from the background.

"This next challenge is called 'Volcanic Breakout.' Each player will be stationed on a different location on the mountain. You need to get to the bottom."

"That's… really simple actually," said Shy Guy.

"No. It's not," corrected Anderson. "Because each player will also be imprisoned at their location."

"Oh."

"Yes and while they are imprisoned, they must find two things: a combination to get them out and a key. You will need each of your keys to open a door at the bottom of the mountain and if you can get it open in three hours, you will win 20,000 coins, though I recommend getting it done in under two and a half."

Mario scratched his head. "Why do we need to do that?" he asked confusedly.

Anderson shrugged. "I guess it's just a good idea," he said mysteriously. "Oh right!" he blurted suddenly. "One last thing: you will be restrained until the player before you has escaped, so try to find your code and key by the time they get to your location."

"Great," sighed Mona sarcastically. "I hate speedy puzzles."

"Now then, who will be the player to start?" asked Anderson.

"It should be Mario!" said Mallow, pointing to said plumber.

"I agree," said Shy Guy, nodding.

"Sure, I'll go," volunteered Mario.

"Then it's settled!" announced Anderson. "Players, we'll get you to your locations and then we'll get started!" Crew members then led each player into a different car, taking them to their starting locations.

* * *

**1:00 – 3 hours remain**

Mario found himself in a cage next to the crater on the summit of Thwomp Volcano. It was a fairly bare cage, one that looked very similar to the ones that contain zoo animals in cartoons. An orange string was tied to the top of one of the bars and stretched across the crater where the other end was tied to the middle of a post stuck in the ground. Sitting over the middle of the crater with the string running through its hole was a red key.

"Mama-mia, how am I supposed to get that?" Mario thought aloud. He plucked the string and it vibrated, causing the key to move a bit, but the distance was too minuscule to really make a difference. "If only the key would slide to me," he muttered. After a moment of thinking he face-palmed. "I'm an idiot," he groaned and then simply pushed the end of the string down from the top of the bar, tilting the string in his direction. Though he didn't look down when the key clanked against the bars, he was looking at what had been covered up by the string.

"_3-5-7"_

Mario took note of the number and then bent down to the key. He grabbed it with one hand, grabbed the string with another. He gave it a tough yank, causing the string to snap and the key to come into his possession.

He turned around to face the door, which had a keypad on it, which he calmly entered _3-5-7_ into. The door played a satisfying little bleep before unlocking for him. He stepped out and saw Anderson pull up to the summit on a Segway.

The host hopped up and grinned. "Your ride," he announced, handing him a map.

* * *

**1:05 – 2 hours and 55 minutes remain**

Shy Guy quietly stood in a small room with no clear exit. The exit wasn't clear because the only light in the room was a dim, red light bulb and he couldn't move around due to his limbs being shackled to the wall. Without warning, the following three things happened: the red light shut off, Shy Guy's shackles unlocked, and a brighter, green light came on.

Shy Guy got a good look at the room. To his right was a door with a small hole in it. The ground was covered in twenty or so cardboard boxes that were taped shut, though he couldn't see any sort of tool to cut them open with. On the wall directly across from him there were five posters, but the rest of the walls were bare.

The actor slowly approached a cardboard box. He carefully took it in his hands, inspecting it for any places where it would be easy to open. He found none. So then he began violently pulling at the seams.

"Grah!" he grunted, tugging as hard as he could on the box. Unfortunately for him the tape was surprisingly strong and he was lacking in muscle, so it took him a little over two minutes to open the box. "Finally!" he cheered quietly, peering into the box. Emptiness stared back at him, mocking him with its perfectly empty insides. He briefly considered sticking his head inside to check if there was even any air in there before he realized that was foolish. He tossed it behind him in frustration before quickly grabbing another.

_Shy Guy:__ These boxes took a surprising amount of effort to open. I need to find what I'm looking for quickly or I'll waste everyone's time._

Shy Guy had now opened two startlingly empty boxes and looked at the remaining eighteen with fatigue. He stepped back, rubbing his temples, and looked around the room.

_Shy Guy:__ There had to be a clue. I was hopeless without one._

He spun around aimlessly for a moment, looking for clues. His eyes rested on the hole in the door. He slowly walked up to it, his anticipation growing, until he stuck his eye up to it. The sight before him was even more mockingly empty than the box, for this sight lacked color entirely. It lacked shape and color, but hopefully not air.

Shy Guy took a step back, tugging at his cloak. The heat of the volcano was bad enough, but this room seemed to take that heat and intensify it. The air felt stuffy, too stuffy. The room was just too small. Shy Guy looked around, feeling like the walls were closing in on him. The walls which were so green like everything in this room. He was no longer in the real world. His world was the room. His world was green. His world was slowly closing in on him. He spun around and around, gasping for breath until he slammed into the wall of posters.

Slowly, he backed away, looking at the wall before him. "Eureka!" he shouted excitedly. No longer was he stuck in the panicky green world of closing walls, he was back in the real world, back in the challenge.

Shy Guy stripped the posters off the walls, each one only taking a few seconds as opposed to the over two minutes of the boxes. Shy Guy found nothing on the wall, much to his disappointment, but fortunately for him, while looking down with disappointment he saw the violet key – which had been stuck behind a poster – which he must have not noticed it fall in his frenzy. He pocketed it gleefully.

Now there was the matter of the password. He looked at one of the posters (all of which were lying face down). A code was written on the back, which was good. He looked at the others. There were codes on the backs of them too, which was not.

_Shy Guy:__ Did all the codes form one big code? Was one in particular correct? I had no way of knowing._

"Gotta find a clue," Shy Guy grunted, slightly disappointed that the solution wasn't easy. He looked back at the boxes warily, but quickly turned away, not wanting to think about those likely-empty monstrosities. So instead he turned his attention back to the posters, hoping that they would perhaps give him the answer. None of the backs had any sort of sign saying something along the lines of "Pick me!" but that didn't stop the puzzlemaster (as he was known on one or two internet forums). He flipped them over, hoping to find some sort of clue on the fronts.

The first poster was for a performance by Monty and the Moles – "Monty's favorite band," he lamented. It failed to offer any sort of indication that it had the right code.

The second one was a piece of anti-Bowser propaganda, depicting Giga Bowser attacking Princess Peach. "Do you want _this_ in your kingdom?" it asked. Shy Guy agreed that that was a terrifying sight, but was skeptical on the existence of Giga Bowser.

He flipped over the third poster and immediately grinned. It was an advertisement for the board game, Monopoly. What did it feature prominently in the center? None other than a get out of jail-free card. "If only it was an exemption," he whispered, flipping it over once again to read the code – _6-9-7_ – and wait for Mario to arrive.

* * *

**1:30 – 2 and a half hours remain**

Mario pulled into the small town of Dunite Destination. It looked just like the other towns in the area: ground made of a patchy mix of grass and ash, a few quaint buildings including one place special to the town, and a fantastic view. He drove his Segway slowly through the village, looking out for another Segway (a note on the map stated that was the sign of his fellow players). After a minute of slow cruising and getting strange looks (who drives a Segway on a volcano anyways?), he finally located the vehicle leaning on a small shack.

The door creaked open, shedding light on what would normally be a room without colors or shapes, but clearly with air. The plumber stepped in casually, bearing no mind to the general creepiness of the shack. Across the room was a metal door with a keypad on it and a hole with green light shining through it. "Hey, it's-a me-a Mario!" he called.

Shy Guy's mask was quickly visible through the hole. "Hey," Shy Guy breathed, giving a sigh of relief.

"Do you have everything?" asked the plumber.

Shy Guy held up his key proudly. "The code is _6-9-7_," he said. Mario quickly dialed the number and Shy Guy jumped out happily. Mario led him out, Shy Guy still not used to the bright sunlight.

"Let's-a go," said Mario. "Somebody else should be free."

* * *

**1:25 – 2 hours and 35 minutes remain**

Just a bit before Shy Guy left his green room, General Guy was making his way out of the back of a green van. Just behind him exited a green-clad man.

"I must say, it's rather odd for us to be brought to the summit of all places," commented Frogfucius, emerging after Luigi.

"Actually, frog-dude, it will make perfect sense in a bit, kay?" informed Gloombadrick, swooping down without waiting for an answer.

Luigi jumped back, yelping a bit. "You!" he cried.

"Don't be so scared, Green 'Stache," defended Gloombadrick.

"Wario is growing impatient," grunted Wario. "Tell us why we're here!" He pounded his fist against his palm.

Gloombadrick rolled his eyes. "Kay, fine. You guys are here for a mission, I like to, uh, call it _Game-show Teaser_ 'cause it's just a little teaser of what this show is like."

Nobody seemed to care why, the men were just shocked at the prospect of a challenge. "You do realize we're not players, right?" Yvan asked, seriously questioning Gloombadrick's competence.

"Yes," snapped the host's assistant. "That's the point. Though I'll get to that in a moment." He wiggled his eyebrows and flew out over the center of the crater, the volcano's hot air pushing him slightly up. "Well before I explain, I need to split you guys up. First up, I need a guy who's good at flying with a cape." He held out a feather power-up and gave it a light toss into the air, the volcanic breeze carrying it to the contestants.

Luigi began to make a move, but Wario, eyes hungrily staring at the power-up, shoved the green Mario brother to the side and snagged the feather. A purple cape suddenly sprouted from his overalls and began to flutter in the breeze.

Gloombadrick shrugged. "I guess that settles it. Now then, who likes hammers and who likes water? I need three for each."

"I believe if you all simply infer, you shall discover my choice," said Frogfucius.

"Eh, water I guess," shrugged Luigi, casting an envious look at Wario.

"And I would like the same choice, by boogity!" announced Toadbert.

"Is that fine with you guys?" asked Gloombadrick, looking at the remaining guests.

"Yeah, hammers are wicked powerful!" chirped Yvan.

"Indeed," added Blumiere amusedly.

"Okay, so it's settled," said Gloombadrick, nodding. "So deep in this volcano is a chamber filled with stones that are burning hot and you need to get rid of them. Hammer guys, you'll be on raised platforms with piles of the rocks. You guys need to hit the rocks down to the main area of the chamber where the water guys will use some FLUDDs to move them into a pit in the center of the chamber. Once you knock one thousand rocks into the pit, you'll gain access to a chamber at the bottom of the volcano where you will be able to leave the volcano. If you can get out within two hours, you'll add 20,000 coins to the team pot."

"Sounds simple enough," mused Luigi.

"Not quite," replied Gloombadrick. Luigi slumped over.

"Oh boy," groaned the plumber.

"You'll see what I mean later," was all that Gloombadrick said, once again wiggling his eyebrows.

_Toadbert:__ We should all have anticipated a trick. That's what Toadiko told me this game was all about: tricks._

The hammer and water guys were quickly handed their gear and led over to a large, smooth thwomp. "Good luck, gentlemen. Your time begins…. Now!" At his word, the thwomp began to slowly descend into the volcano. All was silent for a moment until a shout rang out.

"What about me!" Gloombadrick whirled around to see Wario gritting his teeth and angrily stomping on the ground. "You can't just forget Wario!" he barked.

"We didn't," said Gloombadrick flatly. "You have a… special role."

"Wa?" asked Wario, picking his nose in a display of only minor interest.

"In half an hour-,"

"I gotta wait for half an hour?" groaned Wario impatiently.

"Yes," replied Gloombadrick sighing. "In half an hour you will put on some heat resistant gloves and fly down to the chamber. You can help the others by throwing the rocks into the pit, or you can try your best to stop them."

"Stop 'em?" questioned Wario. "But then what'll happen to the cash? Think of the cash man!"

"Think of Mona," Gloombadrick replied smoothly. Wario froze. "You can help her," the host's assistant continued. "If you all don't escape the volcano in time, whether it's your fault or not (assuming you try to stop them at all), Mona will win an exemption and be guaranteed to make it to the next episode."

Wario stroked his moustache for a moment, thinking. Finally he looked up at the host and said calmly "Wario will think about it."

* * *

**1:35 – Players: 2 hours and 25 minutes remain – Guests: 1 hour and 55 minutes remain**

The light switched to green and Mallow was released from his chains. "Huzzah!" he cried happily, stretching his limbs. He finally got a good look at the room; it was very similar to Shy Guy's: a small room with four stone walls, the one on the right containing a door with a hole in it. Though the differences were quite clear: instead of posters on the wall across from him, there was a single electrical socket and replacing the boxes was an absolutely massive tangled ball of wires. Plugs seemed to poke out from every possible location. There were hundreds of them and they came in every color imaginable. The only other object that stuck out was a handheld black-light, which obviously needed power to work.

Mallow sighed and sat down by the tangle. He grabbed the checkered cord of the black-light and began to pull. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple and it was evident he would have to follow the cord. And so he did, prying open the tangle to see where the cord went. He kept one hand on it at all times as he followed it through knots, loops, curves, and straight shots across the tangle that required him to crawl into it in order to follow the cord.

Finally, his search came to an end when he got to the checkered plug. Looking around, he realized this might have been the only plug that matched the cord. His face palm would have been audible from far away had he not been in a small room.

_Mallow:__ Several minutes of the team's time was just wasted. Gah, I need to be better at this!_

He plugged the checkered plug into the wall and the black-light suddenly turned on with a soft hum. He picked it up and began waving it around haphazardly. He noticed something show up on the wall to his left. He walked up to it and began to inspect closely, his anticipation mounting. _1-5-3_, it said.

Now there was the matter of the key. Mallow looked around for any place it could be, but finally his eyes rested (reluctantly) on the tangle of cords. He slowly crawled into the tangle, looking through every little nook and cranny of the tangle until finally, right as he was beginning to grow desperate, his had closed on a green key.

It took Mallow twenty five minutes to find his key and password, but Mario and Shy Guy were still nowhere to be found.

* * *

**1:40 – Players: 2 hours and 20 minutes remain – Guests: 1 hour and 50 minutes remain**

The guests stared up at the tunnel they were traveling through. Endless red, glowing rock met filled their vision, though it was somewhat obscured by billowing clouds of steam. Suddenly the tunnel opened up into a circular chamber that was about 150 feet in diameter. In the center was a pit about the size of the thwomp they were riding. Along the walls there were three stone platforms that jutted into the air. Each platform had a chute leading to it from the ceiling.

"Water types, remove yourselves now," grunted the thwomp. Frogfucius, Luigi, and Toadbert quickly hopped off. The thwomp suddenly began to move very quickly, gliding to one of the platforms where Yvan quickly jumped off. The rest of the guests were soon in place and then… nothing.

Blumiere paced around his platform impatiently. "So where are the rocks?" he asked frustratedly. Suddenly the chute leading to his platform began to rumble. He held up his hammer. "Get ready guys!" A rock about the size of a human head began to roll down the chute, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Right as it landed with a thud on his platform, Blumiere took a mighty swing at the stone, sending it careening across the chamber, landing closest to Toadbert.

Toadbert stared at the smoldering stone, sitting still skeptically for a moment. "Here goes nothing," he said. Muttering "by boogity" under his breath, he gave the FLUDD's handle a firm squeeze. Suddenly a powerful jet of water shot out, smashing into the stone and sending it flying.

General Guy was the next to take a swing. "Watch out below!" he called. Luigi shot the stone out of the air and into the pit.

Yvan carefully leveled his hammer before swinging, laughing maniacally as he did so. "Yahoo! Keep it up guys, we got this!"

* * *

**2:10 – Players: 1 hour and 50 minutes remaining – Guests: 1 hour and 20 minutes remaining**

Wolley did a little happy dance upon being released from his chains, spinning around while his arms did a little jig. He finally stopped, ending facing the wall where he was chained. He turned around to see the wall which he had been unable to see before in the dim red light. He didn't quite believe it at first and had to look between his arm and the wall several times before he could be sure what he was seeing: a perfectly replicated mural of the Batfeh.

"Well done, Anderson," chuckled Wolley, clapping slowly. He slowly approached the wall and tapped the mural. Astonishingly enough, the whole thing rippled a bit. "What's this icky, paint-like goop?" he exclaimed, jumping back again. "It's moving!" He took a deep breath and examined his surroundings once more.

The room was a similar size and shape to the ones his fellow players had been contained in and the floor was largely clear, the exception being a corner well away from the rippling Batfeh painting. He inspected the corner, discovering it was filled with a pile of junk. All sorts of products and appliances stuck out at various angles. He inspected the pile and quickly found an orange key taped to a mop that was sticking out of the pile.

"That was… easy," he concluded, suspiciously snatching the key off the handle. But before he could even look deeper into the pile for his number, the reason for the first part of his puzzle being so easy revealed itself.

"Bwaaaraaar!"

Wolley whirled around to face the beast. From the goop making up the Batfeh painting emerged a piranha plant made entirely out of that paint, a Polluted Piranha. He stepped back in fear, his hand shakily grasping an object from the pile. He dragged it out in front of him, revealing it to be the mop which had held his key.

"It's time to tango, you oily monstrosity!" And with that one-liner, he lunged into the creature's mouth, mop-first.

* * *

**2:35 – Players: 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining – Guests: 55 minutes remaining**

Shy Guy was the first to peak into Gabbro Borough's local shack. "He-hello?" he called nervously into the darkness.

"_0-3-5_" a voice wheezed from the distance. Mallow managed to find the keypad and quickly dialed in the code. The door swung open, revealing a young toad coated in black paint.

Mallow's face twisted in horror. Mario finally stepped towards the dripping mass. "Wolley, what happened to you?"

"Found *cough* key," he managed, holding up said item. "Paint plant came out of *wheeze* Batfeh mural. Killed it *huff* to death." He coughed up a chunk of paint. "Dear god that's nasty," he shuddered. "It left that," he said, pointing into the room. The wall's only vandalism was now the code _0-3-5_.

"Well," Mario said, almost giving him a pat on the back before awkwardly backing away from the painted toad. "We've got a Segway for you, let's go save someone else." With that the now quartet left the building, nobody noticing the FLUDD unit sitting in the pile of junk.

* * *

At the same time that Mallow's face so rudely recoiled to Wolley's revolting reappearance, Mona got a look at her prison.

_Mona:__ Am I in… heaven?!_

The ground was littered with countless cans of energy drinks and upon inspection, Mona discovered that they were full. She immediately cracked open a red can of Shroomulus and began to chug.

"Thisisgreat!" she shouted, crushing the empty can in her fist and spiking it onto the ground. "Ibetthekeyisinoneofthesecans!" She happily scooped up another can and emptied it in a few gulps. After her third can she was grinning madly and her entire body was shaking. After the fourth the shaking grew violent. She stumbled and tripped over a can, sending her body to the floor with a great thud.

_Mona:__ No time to stop, I need to help win this!_

Determined, Mona grabbed a green energy drink and quickly downed it. Her face quickly turned the color of the drink. She weakly sipped at another as she stumbled towards the corner, but that can was tossed into a wall long before it was empty. As she made it to the corner she of course vomited, an action as inevitable as it would be in poor taste to describe.

"Okay M-m-mona," she said to herself. Her hyperness had vanished but she was still shaking. "Th-there's no way the producers would expect a-anyone to drink all of those drinks, even m-me. There m-must be a clue!" She attempted to walk through the cans, but ended up kicking a large cluster of them to the side by accident. Underneath she recognized the distinct curvature of a…

_Mona:__ And suddenly a 3 shows up!_

She dove to the ground (or perhaps fell) and tried to clear as many cans out of the way as she could. It took a minute and a half, but she managed to reveal three giant numbers painted onto the floor.

_3-4-9_

Mona now looked around for another clue. Where could her key be? "The c-colors," she said, holding her stomach. There were a multitude of soda colors spread about the room. "Wh-which could it be?" She held up a blue energy drink and emptied it onto the floor, refusing to drink anymore. "Drat, just drink." Looking around, she saw several more blue cans and tossed hers with a sigh.

A voice suddenly called from the void outside her door. "Yo!"

"Sup' Batfeh?" Mona called back, a bit of strength returning to her voice.

"You sound distressed," observed Shy Guy quietly.

"I-I'm fine!" replied Mona. "Just give me a minute, I should have my key by then!"

"What's your password?" asked Mario.

"Just give me a minute!" shouted Mona, scared to let the others see her while she was still so ill. She waded through the cans until she saw something she hadn't noticed before. "Koopa Kola?" She pondered it for a moment. "I guess brown i-is the color of moles." She shrugged and dumped the contents of the soda onto the floor. Along with the soda, an indigo key tumbled out of the can. "Got it!" she cheered, attempting to jump with joy but instead falling.

"Are you alright?" asked Mallow, hearing the thud.

"Yeah, the password is _3-4-9_," muttered Mona.

As the crew emerged into the bright light of Scoria City (which was roughly the same size as the other villages), Wolley eyed Mona oddly. "You don't just sound distressed, you look _ill_!" he exclaimed. He frowned, concern evident.

"Well you look like you're covered in tar," retorted Mona. "Well except for Batfeh." She suppressed a giggle.

Wolley rolled his eyes and hopped on his Segway. "I was slaying a foul beast."

"Suuure."

Despite taking place 50 minutes apart, the next events would be presented to audiences simultaneously in split screen.

* * *

**Players: 2:50 / Guests: 2:00**

Down on the mountain, the crew of five was making their way out of Scoria City along a breathtaking cliff. Mario rode along the edge, next to him was Mona, next to her was Wolley, while Mallow and Shy Guy rode comfortably away from the edge.

On top of the mountain, Gloombadrick slowly floated towards the crater where Wario sat impatiently. "Wario," he called blandly.

Down on the mountain, Wolley had finished telling the group about what had happened in his cell. Mona had mostly ignored the heroics, instead deciding to bring up the mural of Batfeh.

"Wah?" was Wario's response, hopping up.

Through her sick stomach, Mona began to cackle, her eyes tearing up.

"It's time." Wario chuckled and began to back up.

Shaky from both sickness and laughter, Mona began to swerve.

Wario ran for the edge.

Mona's Segway slammed into Mario's.

Wario jumped.

Mario fell.

"Let's-a gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Dum-dum-duuuuuuum! Double cliffhanger! Both of which involve cliffs! Also, what, the Batfeh seriously ended up affecting the plot!? Okay, I feel like I need to explain why such an absurd thing is here. I began writing this chapter at about two in the morning one night after having watched The Dark Knight and having drank like five cokes. By the next morning I was halfway through the chapter and couldn't think of any other interesting ways to have a morning scene and once I thought of making something so ridiculous actually affect the mission, there was no going back.**

**Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought of the dual missions, the chapter in general, or anything else in a review! I'd really appreciate it!**


	16. Family-Friendly Execution

**Author's Notes: Bam! As an attempt to make up for not updating for so long I bring you not one, but two chapters within the same week! A quick thing to be aware of: this chapter also jumps around in time, but not nearly as much as the last one.**

**Also, the wicked theme mentioned in this chapter is the Count Cannoli Battle theme from Wario: Master of Disguise, play it when signaled if you wish.**

_Episode 4 Final Part (4)_

Wolley threw himself from his Segway and to the cliff. "I got ya', Mario!" he shouted. He barely managed to snag the plumber's ankles. Mario was saved, but his Segway plummeted 100s of feet to the dusty earth below.

Mario took a deep breath. "Thank you Wolley," he said, terror making his voice quiver. "Now please pull me up."

Wolley began to tug, but while his hands moved upwards, Mario did not. "My hands are too slick, I can't get you up!" he cried.

"Mallow, Shy Guy, help!" screamed Mario, his face turning red as the blood rushed to his head. The two requested players scrambled to the cliff, each grabbing a leg. Wolley let go and backed off.

"Ready?" asked Mallow. Shy Guy slowly nodded. "Pull!" They yanked as hard as they could and Mario (though now without his hat) made it to safety.

Mario gave a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair. "That was… that was close."

Mona stumbled over to Mario. "I'm so sorry!" she screamed. "So so so so sorry! I'm just so dizzy and-."

Mario cut her off. "Look, I'm alive, don't worry about it."

"Really?" Mona was shocked.

"Yeah." Mario's expression was a bit angry, but he tried not to show it. "I know you wouldn't _try_ to kill me, so there's no point in being mad."

Mona seemed to accept that answer and looked around awkwardly before saying, "So how are we going to get down the mountain?"

"One of us will have to run alongside the Segways," suggested Wolley.

"I'll do it," volunteered Mario, standing up determinedly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mona." Mario began to jog ahead. "Come on guys, we're still on a time limit here!" The other players exchanged shocked looks before getting back on their vehicles and following him.

* * *

**2:00 – Players: 2 hours remaining – Guests: 1 and a half hours remaining**

"Let's-a gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Wicked music would play as Wario plummeted down the volcano's crater.

Down in the big chamber, Yvan looked up curiously. "Anyone else here that noise?" he shouted.

"What noise?" asked Frogfucius, whose hearing wasn't what it used to be.

"Wario time!" Wario landed in the chamber with a deafening bang.

"So are you finally here to help us?" asked Luigi, enviously eyeing the cape.

"Sorry bub, but I have an employee to help!" With that, Wario blasted into the air, snatching a stone with his heat resistant gloves.

"What's he gonna do?" cried Yvan.

"This!" roared Wario, chucking the stone straight at Blumiere. He cackled madly as the count dove out of the way of the scorching stone.

"You _scoundrel_!" hissed Blumiere, carefully lining up the next stone. He swung and sent the stone flying right into Wario's stomach.

"Aieeee! It burns!" cried the plumber, plummeting to the ground. He quickly got back up, though, determined to stop the others.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Blumiere, hitting another stone towards him. Wario cracked his knuckles and met the stone with a punch, sending it flying back. Blumiere's eye's narrowed as he returned the stone and launched another. Wario caught the first one and punched the second one back before chucking the first towards General Guy. "Watch out!" called Blumiere.

"You've just challenged a general to a battle!" shouted General Guy furiously, slamming the rock back at Wario.

Yvan now began hitting his rocks at the flying plumber, but he swatted them away with little effort. He alternated between punching rocks back towards his aggressors and expertly weaving away from the boulders and letting them break on the cavern walls. In the red glow of the volcano he looked like a wrathful demon. His eyes shined with fire and his 'stache had become even more twisted in the steamy cavern. As he swooped towards Yvan, the young toad cried out in fear, a fear created more by the horrifying figure approaching him than the object in his hand.

_General Guy:__ Worse than our saboteur's fearsome appearance was his expert dodging. How such an obese man could be so elegant is a mystery, but it made him come off as immortal._

With the influx of stones stopping, the water guys turned their attention to the flying beast. Luigi, in a rare show of jealousy-fueled courage, was the first to aim his FLUDD. "Take this, you fat freak!" he squealed angrily. The water jet struck Wario in the back of the neck, diverting his attention long enough to allow a few stones to fly by and roll into the pit.

"Wah!" cried Wario. He whirled around to face Luigi, shaking his fist. A stone hit him in the back, sending him plummeting a few feet. He managed to catch himself before he hit the ground though and quickly snagged another stone and began barreling towards the other plumber.

"Mama-mia!" screamed Luigi, running away at full speed.

"I'll-a get you!" snarled Wario, raising the rock above his head. He pulled back, prepared to throw when he was met with two blasts of water to the face.

"Take that, foul fiend!"

"Begone, by boogity!"

Wario was pushed back and struggled to push through the jets, but he eventually managed to take off into the air and chuck the rock at Luigi before returning to punching rocks back at the hammer-wielding guests. While his offensive was fairly strong, with the FLUDDs now after him he was beginning to slip up. Stones were once again making their way into the pit and water jets would occasionally knock Wario aside.

_Wario:__ I was so awesome, but eventually those losers got me down._

Wario tumbled to the ground after being struck by a stone and water jet at the same time. "Somebody keep him down!" ordered Blumiere. Luigi quickly ran over to the fallen plumber and unleashed a jet of water, not stopping. He didn't drown Wario, he definitely wasn't aiming for the face, but he kept him down with the intense pressure.

With Wario down for the count, the others were able to continue the challenge like normal (albeit missing a capped teammate) for quite a while and with startling efficiency.

_Toadbert:__ We were so good, I bet we were better than the actual players!_

At 3:09, just as Frogfucius shot a stone into the pit, the chamber began to shake. "Egad!" shouted the old man.

"What in the world?" muttered Wario, who had long since given up and now laid in a wet pile.

Suddenly, a big, red thwomp rose out of the pit. "Hoorah!" he cheered boisterously. "That's ooooone thousaaaand rocks! Come on down, gentlemen!" The guests cheered and hopped onto the stone creature. "Gooooing down!"

The chamber they arrived in was much smaller than the one they had just come from. Clearly the thwomp had taken a different tunnel than the one their stones had fallen into, for it was completely devoid of the one thousand scalding chunks of rock. Instead, it was a chamber about the size of a large living room. It was clearly on the side of the mountain because there was a massive yellow stone door with daylight shining under the edge. Oddly enough, the chamber was furnished. It contained four smelly couches and an old AC unit.

"Huh, AC in a volcano, who would have seen that coming?" commented Yvan as they hopped that off the thwomp.

"It's my little treat," replied the thwomp. "Goodbyeeee!" he cheered, zooming back up the tunnel.

Wario approached the door and snagged a small sheet of paper taped to it. He suddenly began to cackle with glee. "I haven't failed yet!" he managed to say.

"What in the- give me that!" snapped Blumiere. He quickly scanned the message scrawled in crude handwriting. "Oh dear."

"_Hope the players can finish their challenge and open the door in time. YOU GOTTA ESCAPE, REMEMBER?_"

"Oh no, Wolley, hurry up!" screamed Yvan, shaking his fist at the door.

* * *

**2:40 – Players: 1 hour and 20 minutes remaining – Guests: 50 minutes remaining**

"Finally!" sighed Timpani as her light switched to green. She stretched her cramped limbs and took a look around the room. It was the same size as the others and had the same door as the others to her right. In the center was a plain wooden table that held two things: a velvet bag and a black box. The bag was purple with the number _101_ sewed into it with golden thread. She poured the contents out onto the table.

_Timpani:__ Unsurprisingly, I was given a puzzle._

One hundred and one puzzle pieces now sat on the table. She decided to inspect the box for any clues before starting on the puzzle. There didn't seem to be any openings, the only thing of note on it was a small indention in the shape of a puzzle piece. She looked over at the pile of pieces. "Guess I gotta find the spare."

It was certainly hot in that room. Not quite as hot as the other rooms, but still hot enough to cause sweat to form on her brow. The sweat seemed to come at random, there was no rhythm to it and that was beginning to bother Timpani. When she got into deep thought she liked rhythm, it calmed her, helper her progress steadily. She stood up and backed away from the table, looking around for something to cool off with. She of course found nothing and resorted to taking her hair down and wrapping her ribbon around her hair to catch the sweat, it was gross but it worked.

The picture soon began to form and it was looking somewhat odd. From what she had put together it resembled Anderson taking a selfie and making a particularly smooth eyebrow gesture. It would be safe to say Timpani was creeped out, but she progressed nonetheless. After ten or so minutes she had completed the fairly simple puzzle. In one tentalce, Anderson held the camera, but another two were holding onto a note that said _4-9-0_.

She held up the remaining, purely black piece. "Gotcha!" she said happily. She fumbled with the box until the found the indention and pressed the piece in. The box suddenly spilt down the middle and opened, revealing a yellow key.

A few minutes later she heard a door open and Mona's voice call nervously. "Hello? Anyone here?"

"It's me," replied Timpani calmly. "My code is _4-9-0_, please let me out, it's sweltering in here!"

Mario typed the number into the keypad. Timpani could hear him breathing heavily as he did so. "Um, Timpani?"

"Yes, Mario?"

"Are you sure you found your combination?" asked Mario concernedly.

"Yes, I'm quite sure, why do you ask?" Timpani was frowning now.

"It didn't work."

Timpani jumped up. "What in the world?" She began to pace quickly. She suddenly spun towards the door. "Enter it again!" she ordered.

_Beep boop bop… bzzt!_ "It didn't work!" insisted Mario.

"Gah," sighed Timpani. "I'll search for clues!" She began pacing around the room, inspecting the walls.

"Any luck?" Mallow asked innocently after a minute. Timpani simply sighed in response.

"This isn't good." Timpani rested her head on the table and eyed the puzzle.

_Timpani:__ Maybe there was something I missed on the puzzle, a small detail revealing the true code._

She then grabbed the bag that originally held the pieces. "Did I leave any in here?" she muttered, shaking it. Suddenly she found the answer waving in front of her face. "Of course!" she shouted gleefully.

"What did you find?" called Mario.

"It was the number of puzzle pieces!" she said. "Oooh that's clever, really clever!"

"What was it?" called Mario, growing impatient.

"_1-0-1_!" Timpani answered confidently.

_Beep-boop-bop… ding!_ "Awesome!"

Timpani strolled out of her cell. "It's about time I got out of there," she said with a laugh. She then looked to her teammates. "I guess that just leaves Toadiko?"

Shy Guy nodded. "Yes, let us hurry."

The gang raced out into the town of Pumice Principality, Timpani relishing the sunlight. Mallow motioned to his Segway. "You go ahead and ride, Mario, I'll run." Mario gave him a grateful grin and climbed aboard.

Shy Guy was the first one to head off. "Come on ladies and gentlemen, let's save Toadiko."

* * *

**3:05 – Players: 55 minutes remaining – Guests: 25 minutes remaining**

The final player found herself in a vastly different room than the others, though she didn't know it yet. The lights overhead were an especially dim red, or at least they were until they switched to normal lights, not green this time, just normal (albeit a bit dim and creepy) light bulbs. Toadiko found herself gasping.

_Toadiko:__ They put me in a library!_

She walked happily through the shelves, looking from shelf to shelf until she came to a small table containing two scraps of paper, each with a phrase on it.

_The Political Process_

_Sculpture to c 500_

She picked up one of the sheets. "Political process, hm… oh that's 324," she said, recalling the dewy decimal system. Toadiko calmly weaved her way through the shadowy shelves until she got to section 324. There were only three books in that section (the library wasn't a particularly big or good one). Deciding there was no time to read through each, she grabbed one and began to shake out the pages, cringing as she did so. "Sorry," she whispered. When Toadiko throttled the second book, a small sheet of paper fell out.

_Italian Grammar_

Toadiko racked her brain for the number, but it wouldn't quite come. "I know Italian is in the 450s," she muttered. "But which one…" She decided to just wander into the 450s and see what happened. She scanned through the shelves and eventually found one book one Italian grammar with the label of 455. She throttled the book but nothing came out so with a sigh she began to flip through. Luckily enough she caught the message in the sign out sheet in the very front of the book. The last two lines held an interesting message.

_Your password is Numerical Analysis_

_~Anderson Blooper_

Once again, Toadiko couldn't recall the exact number of her target, but she had an estimate. She headed to the 510s and scanned around for a moment until she announced with glee, "_5-1-8_!" She paused and looked around her, happy to be surrounded by all the books, though a little bit weary of the dank lighting and depleted shelves.

Returning to the table, she grabbed the other scrap of paper and inspected it. "Sculpture…" she sighed. She never really cared for sculpture, or at least not enough to read into it and she had no idea where to begin looking. "Arts I guess," she muttered, making her way to the 700s. It took her five minutes to scan through the surprisingly well-stocked shelves and find 532.

_Toadiko:__ Evidently the people here really like sculpture._

Seventeen different books on the topic stared at her. She groaned and began quickly going through each one. It wasn't until book thirteen that a slip of paper fell out.

_History of the Northeastern Mushroom Kingdom_

"Too easy!" Toadiko chirped, clicking her heels. She ran over to 974 where, much to her dismay, there were 23 books and much to her misfortune, she didn't find the next slip until the 23rd book.

_General Encyclopedias_

Being a scholar, Toadiko of course knew where the encyclopedias were. Upon reaching 030 she found one large encyclopedia. She began to tediously flip through page after page and it wasn't until the locksmith entry that she found something of interest: a blue key, the last key. She grinned as she pocketed the key.

_Toadiko:__ That challenge was a piece of cake!_

She returned to the table containing the first two scraps, sat down, and began the wait.

* * *

**3:30 – Players: 30 minutes remaining – Guests: TIME UP**

Blumiere's watch began to beep loudly, causing the guests to jump. "No," sighed Blumiere.

"What's with the beeping?" groaned Luigi.

"Time's up," was the grim response.

Everyone quickly sat up. "What!?"

"Our two hours are up, we're done for." Blumiere rested his head in his hands.

"Well it certainly isn't our fault," said Frogfucius. "We did a fine job, chaps! We managed to finish the challenge and pummel Wario with plenty of time to spare!"

"Pummel is a strong word," grumbled Wario.

"It's an accurate one," whispered Luigi.

"So we really did outdo our relatives," said General Guy, grinning.

"Yeah, it's all Wolley's fault!" added Yvan.

_Toadbert:__ Despite failing, spirits remained high among us guests. We all (except Wario) wished that we could have won, but we did the best we could have done._

Wario rubbed his chin. "Hey, I guess that means Mona gets an exemption!" he said jollily.

"So _that's_ why you were attacking us!" gasped Blumiere.

"Well _duh_!" replied Wario. "What, did you just think I was a violent idiot?"

"Well…"

"That flying dude told me if I tried to stop you guys and we lost then Mona would earn an exemption, so of course I fought you guys off!" explained Wario.

"Aww, you do care!" teased Yvan.

"Quiet you!" barked Wario. "I care about my employee bringing 500,000 coins to my company!"

"You know she's likely to keep it," commented Blumiere.

"Well _yeah_…"

"So you just did that because you care!" said Yvan.

"Shut up, kid."

* * *

**3:30 – Players: 30 minutes remaining – Guests: TIME UP**

"Mallow, come on, you're slowing us down!" urged Mona. The nimbian was struggling to keep up and the others had slowed their pace so they didn't lose him.

"Not *huff* in *puff* shape!" coughed Mallow.

Mona didn't bother replying because they had just pulled into the town of Felsite Federation and had more important matters to deal with. They found the last Segway sitting in front of a tiny library.

"No fair, she gets a library?" said Timpani, crossing her arms.

Shy Guy was the first in the door. He meandered through the darkness until he found the door leading to the main library. "Toadiko?" he called.

Inside, Toadiko quickly sat up. "Hello?"

"Toadiko, we're here!" shouted Mona.

Toadiko rushed to the door. "Hey guys!" she said happily. "My password is _5-1-8_, Numerical Analysis."

_Beep-boop-bop… ding!_ The door swung open and the last player stepped out. "How long do we have left?" asked Toadiko.

Mallow checked his watch. "29 minutes," he announced. "We've just missed that mysterious 2 and a half hour recommendation. Somebody probably just lost an exemption or something." He shrugged and began to waddle out.

"Darn," sighed Mario. "An exemption would have been nice."

The players hopped on their Segways, Wolley choosing to run the rest of the way. They had now come low enough to get some cloud cover, a sweet relief to the hot, exhausted players. The road down was short and thankfully away from cliffs. After a few minutes, they pulled up to a large, yellow door in the side of the mountain.

"Well, I guess this is the door," commented Shy Guy. The door had a crude painting in the center of a blue sky with some nice, smiling clouds. Seven key holes ran down the painting.

Each player took out their key. "So what order should they go in?" asked Timpani.

Mallow grinned and snatched up the keys. "What that sky needs is a rainbow!" Starting at the bottom where he could easily reach, he placed the keys: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. When he had placed the violet key he stepped back cheerily and waited. Nothing happened. The following face-palm echoed down from the mountain across the fields of the Mushroom Kingdom. "I'm an idiot," he sighed. "It's _backwards_!"

"Don't worry buddy," reassured Mario, "we still have a few minutes!"

"We do?" asked Mallow. He checked his watch. "Sweet!" He quickly switched the order of the keys and stepped back once again. The door slowly creaked open, revealing…

"You're laaaaaaaaaaate!"

* * *

The players and guests were spared the long walk home and instead got to ride up the mountain on Mr. Granite's bus. Anderson had just explained the situation with the guest's challenge to the players and they now sat with their heads down in shame.

"I was beat by my little bro," sighed Wolley.

"I guess that recommended time limit _was_ important," muttered Mallow.

"Don't fret Mallow," said Frogfucius. "You at least completed your own challenge!"

"Yeah but we still messed up!" pouted the cloud boy.

"Messing up is just a part of the game," chuckled Anderson from the front of the bus.

"So we gained 20,000 coins but technically lost 20,000 too?" asked Mario.

Anderson nodded. "A net gain of zero coins."

**Team Pot**

**83,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**20,000 coins**

**Result: 103,000 coins**

**Possible: 217,000 coins**

"You've officially earned over 100,000 coins!" announced the host.

"Huzzah!" cheered Mallow.

"Though you could have earned double that," added Anderson. The players went silent.

"Wow… we _suck_," groaned Wolley, tilting his head back and glaring at the ceiling.

"Or the Mole is really good," replied Anderson, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Are we going to go over suspicions?" asked Timpani.

"Nah," replied Anderson. "We're late enough in the game that you'll have to look into this for yourselves!"

"Man, that just makes things harder!" sighed Mona.

"Well you don't have to worry too much today, Ms. Martin," said Anderson.

"Huh?"

"There's something I failed to mention about the guest's challenge. The guest who chose the cape was given a proposition: if he tried to stop the others and they did indeed fail the challenge then the player who invited him would earn an exemption."

Mona turned to the plumber beside her. "You fought off six other guys for _me_? Oh thank you, boss, thank you!" She suddenly gave him a bear hug.

"You're welcome," he awkwardly muttered.

"He didn't even stop us," grumbled Blumiere.

"But the two conditions were met," replied the host, pulling out a green card.

"Join the club!" Wolley cheered, holding up his own exemption. Mona snatched hers from the host's tentacle and they bumped exemptions.

"Now then," said the host, once again getting everyone's attention. "I believe showers are in order for _everyone._" He paused for a moment. "Especially Wolley."

Yvan looked warily at his paint-covered brother. "Yeah, gross dude!"

"Anywho, everyone shower off at Igneous Inn and we'll all meet up at Lava Flow for dinner!" Anderson was referring to the pizza joint in Basalt Town where they had dined at the previous night.

* * *

Dinner had an odd mix of moods. The guests were still buzzing with adrenaline while the players were picking at their food with grim expressions on their faces. There was little conv

ersation between players and when there was it was only brief stories of what had happened in their cells, the happiest a player got was when Wolley chuckled at Mona's miserable experience with the energy drinks though that earned him a punch in the spot where the Batfeh had been (it had finally washed off).

General Guy turned to Shy Guy. "What's wrong, son?" he asked. Shy Guy's face was practically down on the table.

"Actually," cut in Blumiere. "What's wrong with _all_ the players?" he asked, motioning to their glum faces.

"They know what's about to happen," said Anderson.

"Huh?"

"Everyone, just for the sake of being obvious, the fourth execution will take place after dinner!" announced Anderson.

The guests all froze. "I had forgotten about that part," said Frogfucius, suddenly losing his appetite.

The rest of dinner contained mostly chatter between the guests and players. They were all fairly certain that, regardless of who was executed, the guests would be leaving soon, so the players took advantage of the last few moments with their loved ones.

Finally, once nobody could pretend to eat another bite and farther elongate the dinner, Anderson stood up. "Everyone, it's time. Get on the bus." Everyone slowly filed out of the restaurant while the waiters held their hats to their chests in respect for the soon-to-depart.

_Mario:__ That last gesture may have been unnecessary…_

The bus brought them to the summit of Thwomp Volcano, a place they were now all too familiar with. Seven computers surrounded the crater and fourteen platforms sat above the glowing abyss. The guests were each led onto a platform while the players took their places at their computers.

**Execution Quiz #4**

**#1 - On the plane to Toad Town, did the Mole sit alone?**

**-The Mole sat alone**

**-The Mole sat with someone**

_Timpani:__ I seriously regret getting rest on that plane ride now._

**#2 – What kind of question did the Mole answer in the **_**Molesque**_** quiz?**

**-The Mole answered a question about an executed player**

**-The Mole answered a question about coins**

**-The Mole answered a question about the film's actors**

_Toadiko:__ A more fitting question would be if they got a question wrong._

**#3 – What place did the Mole come in in the Volcano Surfing challenge?**

**-1****st**

**-2****nd**

**-3****rd**

**-4****th**

**-5****th**

**-6****th**

**-7****th**

**#4 – Is the Mole's guest a blood relative?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

_Mallow:__ This one hit me right in the childhood…_

**#5 – What role did the Mole's guest have in the Gameshow Teaser challenge?**

**-The Mole's guest used a hammer**

**-The Mole's guest used a FLUDD**

**-The Mole's guest used a cape feather**

_Mario:__ Wario did sabotage in that game, even if it was for Mona's benefit. Could Mona have told him she was the Mole?_

**#6 – What position on the mountain did the Mole take in Volcanic Breakout (starting at the top)?**

**-1****st**

**-2****nd**

**-3****rd**

**-4****th**

**-5****th**

**-6****th**

**-7****th**

_Shy Guy:__ The earlier the position, the longer they have to sabotage._

**#7 – Did the Mole receive a card from Anderson (exemptions or -1s)?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#8 – What color was the Mole's key in Volcanic Breakout?**

**-Red**

**-Orange**

**-Yellow**

**-Green**

**-Blue**

**-Indigo**

**-Violet**

_Wolley:__ You know, we only got a brief glimpse at them in the end. Hm, maybe the Mole had red for execution?_

**#9 – Was the Mole's guest human?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

_Mona:__ Let's just get to that question already._

**#10 – Who is the Mole?**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

Once all the players had finished their quizzes, they were each led to platforms across from the ones their guests occupied. "What are we d-doing up here?" Toadiko asked, refusing to look down.

"Well, I'm going to enter your names into this computer. If a green thumbprint comes up, you're safe. If a red thumbprint comes up, you're executed and I drop you and your guest into the volcano."

Everyone looked up at him in terror. "What!?" screamed Toadiko. "I'm afraid of heights, don't you know that?"

Anderson nodded. "I'm well aware. So hope you're not the Mole's fourth victim."

"That fall would kill us, by boogity!" squealed Toadbert.

"Nah, some lakitus will catch you or something," Anderson said casually. "It worked for Daisy so it will work for you!"

"Wait what happened to Daisy!?"

"Now then!" interrupted Anderson. "Mona, go ahead and dispose of your exemption, you're up first!" Mona casually tossed the green card into the volcano as Anderson entered her name.

M

O

N

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

Green

Mona and Wario grinned.

"Same for you, Wolley!" announced Anderson. Wolley gleefully punted his exemption into the crater.

W

O

L

L

E

Y

.

.

.

.

Green

"Who would like to go next?" asked Anderson, dramatically holding his tentacles above the keyboard. Mallow nervously raised his hand.

"Might as well get this over with," muttered the nimbian.

"You got it, Mallow…"

M

A

L

L

O

W

.

.

.

.

Green

Mallow brightened up. "Sweet!" He then looked around at the unsafe players and began to feel guilty.

"I'll go next," said Mario, tossing the -1 into the volcano. "Let's-a see if I can still pull through."

M

A

R

I

O

.

.

.

.

.

Red

The Mario bros. were suddenly plummeting into the volcano's crater. "Mama-miaaaaaaaaa!"

Mallow fell to his knees. "Marioooo!" he shouted. "No! My friend is gone!"

Wolley lowered his head. "He was a friend to us all."

"Indeed," replied the host. "Mario was a true hero, even in the game. Sadly this is a game that is unkind to heroes. This is a game of madness and deceit, one that will crush the good."

"I don't know what we're going to do without him," admitted Mona. "He's acted as a leader and an inspiration in so many of our challenges. Without him, who will guide us?"

**Flashback: **_Mario stood facing Bowser in Hooktail's nest, his face defiant. "Everyone to the nest!" he ordered._

"He was definitely the most determined player," said Mallow.

"Yeah," agreed Toadiko. "He treated every challenge like he was saving the world."

**Flashback:** _Mario zoomed towards the fortress, his face completely serious as he made his way closer to Princess Peach._

"Like we said though," Wolley cut in. "There was no way he was the Mole. I guess this is just proof."

"But he was so clever!" defended Mallow. "I was sure he had the whole thing figured out!"

"I guess the game got into his head," suggested Timpani.

"The -1 couldn't have helped," added Shy Guy.

* * *

A lakitu had saved the Mario bros. and taken them out of the door both groups had faced at the end of their challenges. After a couple minutes, Anderson arrived by motorbike. "So why couldn't we drive those?" chuckled Mario as Anderson hopped off.

"That, Mr. Mario, would have been too easy!" Anderson walked up to the brothers. "Nothing about this game is easy, I'm sure you know that now."

Mario snorted. "I've known that since the beginning! It just caught up with me I guess, but it's been quite an experience, an adventure like no other!"

"I'm glad you think so, Mario. You'd think an adventurer like you would have been bored by this," said Anderson.

"Nah, I don't usually deal with double agents on my adventures." Mario paused for a moment. "Or execution for that matter!"

"Indeed. So what do you think was your ultimate downfall?" Anderson asked.

Mario pondered that for a moment. "I'd say it was being too trustworthy. There were certainly players who I gave more trust than they deserved and I'm probably here because of that."

"Let that be a lesson to the other players," said Anderson. "Luigi, any thoughts?"

"Huh?" Luigi asked, jumping. "Oh um, I think this game is much harder than it looks on the surface. When my bro only makes it halfway through something it's either really boring or really hard and I know firsthand that it's definitely not boring!"

"True, very ture," said Anderson. "Well boys, it's time for you two to return home," he said, looking to a red van pulling up behind them.

Mario hopped in, but quickly leaned out and waved. "Bye Anderson! Thank you for this journey!" Anderson simply nodded and waved back. "Come on, Weegee, let's head home and see if Daisy's gone on her adventures yet!" And with that, the doors closed and the van took a mighty hero out of the game. And then there were six.

* * *

Back at the crater, it had been announced that the guests would be leaving in a minute. The players got in hugs and some goodbye messages before a blue van pulled up. "Off you go," ordered Gloombadrick.

"Just like that?" snapped Mona. "You bring them on with all this drama then just kick them out like it's no big deal?"

Gloombadrick winked. "You got it." Mona groaned.

Blumiere waved back glumly. "I love you Timpai!" he shouted as the doors began to close.

"I love you too!" Timpani wasn't sure if her husband heard the message before the doors closed. She sighed. "I guess it's on to our next location?"

Anderson's bike zipped up to the peak. "Players, it's on to our next location!" he announced.

"You so called it," said Wolley.

"Wow, I'm glad to get away from this hot, dry, wasteland," chirped Mallow.

"Yeeeeah, about that," began Anderson. "We're going to a desert next."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Nooooo, Mario's gone! I've been reading through the old chapters and I'm realizing how much I miss each player. Mario in particular is going to be tough to lose, I've never written a Mario story without him!**

**Also hey, we're halfway through! I'll try my best to make sure the second half comes out significantly faster than the first *hides from Superscope shots***

**Please, let me know what you thought of the challenges, chapter, execution, and/or the identity of the Mole in a review. See you in episode 5!**


	17. Language Barrier

**Author's Notes: Ah, what better way to celebrate the new year than by putting out the beginning of episode 5? Happy New Year everyone, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

_Episode 5 Part 1_

_The players are now halfway through their journey, though they are missing four. Now they find themselves, five players and one mole, having to adapt. The fiend's tricks and traps seem to be growing more vicious, or perhaps it's the players themselves creating the traps, broken into mad fragments by the endless barrage of strife and deceit. It will all end as soon as they answer the question:_

_Who is the Mole?_

**Wolley**

_Surname:__ Ohtoad_

_Birthday:__ December 19_

_Occupation:__ Royal Assistant_

_**Mona**_

_Surname:__ Martin_

_Birthday:__ August 16_

_Occupation:__ Game Designer/Cook_

**Timpani**

_Surname:__ Bleck_

_Birthday:__ March 4_

_Occupation:__ Psychologist_

**Toadiko**

_Surname:__ Shroomose_

_Birthday:__ September 8_

_Occupation:__ Scholar_

**Mallow**

_Surname:__ Nimbus_

_Birthday:__ April 24_

_Occupation:__ Weatherman_

**Shy Guy**

_Surname:__ Maskio_

_Birthday:__ July 5_

_Occupation:__ Actor_

* * *

_Shy Guy:__ While I consider myself to already be a fairly strategic player, Mario's execution made me feel the need to step up my game. Sadly, this meant I had to go around and *shudder* talk to each player about what they did in the last challenge._

Toadiko gave a fairly basic explanation of her exploits in the library, seeing no harm. After she finished, she looked up at Shy Guy as he scribbled in his journal. "So I guess you're trying to find some sabotage?"

"Yep," Shy Guy said, glancing out of the bus window. It seemed Mr. Granite's bus hadn't yet made it back to Toad Town.

"Do you really expect the Mole to tell you if they did something?" Toadiko asked skeptically.

Shy Guy looked up at Toadiko. "Well I don't expect them to reveal flat out sabotage, I can conclude two things: that everyone here is kindhearted deep down and that the Mole is likely a bit cocky from Mario's execution. So I think it's reasonable to expect slight hints."

Toadiko blinked, taking in the information for a moment. "You're being surprisingly open about your strategy, Shy Guy."

Shy Guy shrugged and said quietly, "I trust you.

Toadiko grinned. "You do?"

Shy Guy awkwardly smiled back. "Well yeah, you're nice and honest and smart."

"And the same can be said about you!" Toadiko replied happily. "Hey, I have an idea."

"Hm?" Shy Guy was confused. He rubbed his brow in an exaggerated manner.

"Let's form a coalition!" she said cheerfully but quietly.

Shy Guy pondered the though, rubbing his chin and quietly "hmm"ing. "That sounds nice," he finally said.

_Toadiko:__ I honestly didn't expect Shy Guy to branch out like this but I'm really glad to have his help, he's so clever!_

"Sooo, got any info from last challenge?" she asked, leaning over his notebook.

Shy Guy flipped through his notes. "Okay, first off: Mallow. He said something along the lines of- oh hey, I have a quote- he said '_It took me ages to look through the wires. I wish I could have done better!'_ Plus when we had lost Mario's Segway he kept everyone back by running slowly."

"So he may have purposefully been wasting time?" Toadiko concluded.

"Yeah."

"Don't forget how he got the key order backwards even when we were running out of time!" added Toadiko.

"Oh right, good point," he distractedly scribbled something into the book.

"Next up: Mona. While I'm pretty sure she had no intention of knocking Mario off that cliff, her dizziness still resulted in wasted time. Perhaps it's just in her nature, but I would think that most people wouldn't drink that many energy drinks unless specifically instructed, she could have just dumped them all out."

"In her nature? Are you calling her stupid?" laughed Toadiko.

Shy Guy rapidly shook his head. "No of course not!" he insisted.

Toadiko giggled. "Alright, I'll take your word for it."

"Um, next I guess: T-,"

"Good news everyone!" interrupted Anderson. The players' attention immediately snapped to the host. "Congratulations on making it halfway!" There was some half-hearted clapping before he continued. "And now that we're this far, we're beginning our journey to the distant shores of Molehill Isle, where the final execution will take place!"

"Wow, already?" questioned Wolley.

"We'll be there for days!" exclaimed Mallow.

"Oh heavens no!" corrected Anderson. "The journey there takes days and we'll be stopping along the way for challenges!"

"Figures," muttered Mona, crossing her arms.

"You said we were going to a desert, right?" asked Mallow right as they pulled into Toad Town.

"Indeed, we're heading Southeast from Toad Town (directly South of Thwomp Volcano) to the mighty Yell-Yell Desert!"

"Uhg, the Yell-Yell?" groaned Toadiko. "Of all the deserts, why that one?"

"What's so bad about the Yell-Yell?" asked Shy Guy.

"Well picture any other desert in the Mushroom Kingdom," she began, taking on a scholarly tone.

"Like Dry Dry Desert?" suggested Wolley.

"Or Gritzy Desert?" asked Timpani.

"Yes, either of those work," replied Toadiko. "From North to South, the Yell-Yell Desert is about five times as wide as either of them and about the same width as them East-to-West. It also features highly varied and deadly terrain which has made it infamous over the years."

"What a great description, Toadiko!" congratulated Anderson. "Though personally I would have struck a little more fear into everyone's hearts, but you got the job done." Toadiko smiled at the praise. "And there's one thing Toadiko failed to mention, and while it's neither deadly nor related to the terrain, it will be a big obstacle for the coming challenges."

"Psh, I can handle it!" Wolley said confidently.

"The Yell-Yell Desert is one of the few places in the Mushroom Kingdom where English is not widely spoken," explained the host. "The main language used throughout the desert is Shroomish."

"Nevermind, can't handle it," sighed Wolley.

"Does anyone know any Shroomish?" asked the host.

"I took four classes on it in college," said Toadiko, raising her hand high. "It's been a little while, but I should be able to communicate pretty well!"

"Looks like you're in luck, players!"

Timpani raised her hand. "I know a very small amount, nowhere close to Toadiko, but enough to ask where to get food and how much something costs."

"Wow, we're lucky!" chirped Mona, clasping her hands together.

Wolley sighed. "Of course the two translators we have are the two who like me the least."

"If it makes you feel any better, they _have _to help you," Mallow pointed out. Wolley shrugged.

"So are we driving the bus through?" asked Shy Guy.

"Aw heck naw!" replied Mr. Granite. Shy Guy was a little startled, not having heard the bus driver speak in a while. "The Travel Agency wouldn't _dare_ let me drive through that nasty place!" Several players cringed at the term "nasty place". "So sadly I gots ta leave you behind."

"How are we getting through then?" Mona asked concernedly.

"Some locals have offered to drive us through for only a small fee," Anderson said.

Wolley gulped. "Shroomish speaking locals?" he asked.

"Yes, why?" replied Anderson.

"So we're being driven through a perilous desert by some guys most of us can't even communicate with?"

"Sounds about right," answered the host.

"But-!"

"Think of it as an adventure, Wolley!" insisted Anderson.

"We're already on an adventure!" retorted Wolley.

"Then that will make it easier!" Wolley failed to come up with a response so he just crossed his arms and grumbled. Anderson continued, "We'll be meeting at Peach National Fountain to the South of Toad Town and we'll be there in half an hour. In the meantime, perhaps you should learn some Shroomish."

* * *

The bus slowly pulled into the small parking lot near Peach National Fountain. It was empty except for a few tiny cars, clearly the type bought by moms from Toad Town suburbs, not a truck built for the desert. The salty air outside signified they were not far from the coast (and according to Anderson, much of the desert actually bordered the ocean). A few excited children ran around the fountain while concerned mothers yelled for them to slow down.

Shy Guy approached the fountain and pulled out a red coin. "Here goes nothing," he whispered before tossing the coin into the fountain. He shut his eyes tight and made a wish.

"Oooh, whatcha wish for?" Mona asked, running up to the fountain.

"Can't share," muttered Shy Guy, "Won't come true."

"That's a bunch of bologna!" said Mallow, palming a gold coin as he walked up to the crystal clear water. "I'll tell you guys my wish because it's obvious," he said, tossing the coin into the fountain. "I wish I find out who the Mole is!"

"I'm not particularly superstitious, but I wouldn't test your luck if I were you," said Timpani.

"Maybe he's just really confident because he's the Mole," suggested Wolley with a grin.

"Woah!" cried Mallow. "Uncalled for man!"

"Getting defensive, eh muchacho?" chuckled Wolley.

"I'd like to have some friends in this game, so I'd rather not be made out as a traitor" sighed Mallow.

"Don't worry, you have friends, Mole or not," replied Wolley.

Mallow smiled. "Thanks, I'd say the same for all of you! I'd say you're all friend-worthy, even if you're not trustworthy!"

"And some of us definitely aren't trustworthy," muttered Timpani, looking at Wolley.

"Players!" Anderson called. "I hate to interrupt your fountain-side banter, but it appears our rides have arrived!" The players turned back to the parking lot where a fleet of beat up, rusty pickup trucks was pulling in. Out of the leading truck emerged a pokey with red spikes.

"Zar Blooper?" the pokey asked.

"Ska!" Anderson replied charmingly. "Zar Pokervarz?"

"Ska," replied Mr. Pokervarz. He bowed, the pokey equivalent of shaking hands.

Anderson bowed back and turned to the players. "Players, this is Mr. Pokervarz, he will be driving you through the Yell-Yell Desert."

"Hello!" Mona called happily.

"Mona, he may not know what that means," Toadiko pointed out. "Bubarlerst!" she called.

"Was that hello?" asked Mona, scratching her head.

"Well it's literally 'I greet you' but yeah pretty much," replied Toadiko, her scholarly voice returning.

"This language barrier is confusing," groaned Wolley. Toadiko just shrugged at him.

"Can you translate what they're saying?" asked Timpani. "I can get a bit of it, but I'm sure you'd do much better."

"Yeah, no problem!" chirped Toadiko, cupping a hand around her ear to listen better.

"Que bordedruvuckel fe Yellast la sur druvis?" asked Anderson. He was much more animated when he spoke Shroomish. His tentacles wove about as he spoke and his eyes darted around.

"So," Toadiko translated. "You will drive them (that's all the big word) to- I'm guessing Yellast is a town- in your car?"

"Ska," replied Pokervarz.

"Yes."

"I luck bordesafot?" asked Anderson. He didn't sound that concerned.

"And you can keep them safe?"

"Skade! Skade!" assured Pokervarz. "Braverst yet stuf solasafot!"

"Of course! Of course!" Toadiko was struggling to keep up with the fast speech. "I have a big… parasol I think."

"At least we won't fry," said Mallow, shrugging.

"Quasto tock quet druvobo?" asked Anderson.

"Te torode, Zar Blooper," replied Pokervarz. He was growing impatient and Anderson knew it.

"How long will the trip take? Three hours, Mr. Blooper."

"Bugrateck, Zar Pokervarz," said Anderson, bowing again. Pokervarz bowed back.

"I thank you, Mr. Pokervarz."

"Players!" Anderson suddenly shouted. It was a little jarring to hear him speaking English again. "Mr. Pokervarz will take you to the city of Yellast, the journey will take three hours."

"Spot on," Toadiko cheered quietly, pumping her fists.

Pokervarz brought them a large parasol. "And use this to not get fried," Anderson added.

Mona grabbed the parasol, "Thank y-!"

Toadiko quickly cut her off. "Bugratedeck!" She then whispered "It means 'we thank you'!"

The group began to slowly walk towards the trucks. "So you speak Shroomish, Anderson?" asked Timpani.

"I'm fluent, yes," replied Anderson.

"How long did you study it?" Toadiko asked, hoping to outdo him.

"Study it?" questioned Anderson. "Evidently you haven't been looking at my Wikipedia page," he said, shaking his head like they had shamed him. "I grew up in a bilingual family! You may struggle to fit in in the desert, but I will have even more control over you!" He began to cackle evilly. Wolley groaned.

They approached Pokervarz's rusted, green pickup. The truck's back was surprisingly large, big enough to fit the six contestants comfortably. There was a small post to stick the parasol in. Evidently people rode in there fairly often.

Mona was setting up the parasol as Pokervarz approached. "We go now," he said. It was clear that he wasn't at all familiar with the words and he had likely been told them a few seconds ago.

"Gracias!" replied Wolley.

Timpani smacked the Toad in the back of the head. "Wolley don't be such a dolt, the guy speaks Shroomish, not Spanish!"

"Well maybe he knows Spanish better than he does English!" defended Wolley. After they had quieted down they heard a throaty "de nada" from the front. "Told you!" said Wolley victoriously.

Timpani sighed and rested her hand on her cheek. "Lucky coincidence."

The engine roared to life, spewing black smoke out the car's back. "Looks healthy," muttered Toadiko as she rolled her eyes with sarcasm.

"This sort of car needs power, not environmental friendliness," commented Shy Guy. He peered over the edge of the truck. "Um so where is the desert anyways," he asked Toadiko.

"We'll be there soon enough, no main highway leads to it though," she replied, peering over as well.

After a minute they pulled off the main road to a path where the grass began to turn a sickly brown color. It then began to thin out revealing how dry and cracked the earth below them was. After another minute the ground had lost all regular grass and was instead the brown, cracked ground with yellow patches of sand spread throughout. The sandy patches grew larger and larger as they went on until the truck appeared to be heading towards a sea of yellow sand.

"I get the feeling I know why they call it Yell-Yell desert," commented Wolley. He got a look at the road they were traveling on. It was just a thin, cracked piece of pavement dusted with sand. He looked back, his face full of skepticism. "Guys, I don't like the look of this place," he said nervously.

"You shouldn't," replied Toadiko. Her tone had no bite to it, but it lacked a certain friendliness. "Really, this place is rough, don't underestimate it."

"You got it," he replied, huddling in the truck.

After a few more minutes, Mona noticed something under her feet. "Huh, what's this?" She pulled out an envelope. "How long has this been there?" she asked, holding up the envelope with bewilderment.

"Go on, open it!" urged Timpani.

"It's a… it's a letter!" she announced, inspecting it closely.

"From who?" asked Mallow.

Mona gasped. "It's from the Mole!"

"Read it please," instructed Shy Guy.

"You got it!" Mona then began speaking in the most sinister voice she could manage.

"_Dear players,_

_It seems we've come to our halfway mark. I have struck down four of you and I shall begin work on the rest of you soon enough. I keep telling myself that I need to up my game and perhaps Mario's departure will aid in that. Who shall give you structure now, players? I look forward to seeing how you cope with this new dynamic and I hope that there's room for me in it. Remember this though: just because you've made it to the second half doesn't mean it will be all blue skies and smooth sailing, I am going make the fires of hell rain down on you until it seeps into your subconscious and drives you all mad! Muahahahaha!_

_Have a pleasant day,_

_~The Mole"_

"Woah," gasped Wolley. "This guy is hardcore."

"How can you be sure it's a man?" asked Timpani.

"Oh, I was using 'guy' as a gender-neutral term. Honestly that sort of language sounded more like you or Toadiko."

"Hey!"

"That was a compliment!" he defended sheepishly. "The wording was elegant."

"Oh, thanks then," Toadiko replied awkwardly.

"Can I see that for a moment?" asked Shy Guy.

"Sure," said Mona, handing the actor the letter. "What for?"

"I'm copying it into my journal," he replied, pulling the book from his robe.

"You brought yours?" asked Wolley. "I put mine back in my bag when we got off the bus." He suddenly face-palmed. "Speaking of, we don't have our bags. I'm really hoping we don't have to go through any more shenanigans to get them back."

"I'm sure we don't," said Mallow. "That would be ridiculous."

"Well now we can be sure that we will because we had this conversation," joked Shy Guy.

Mona laughed. "Ah that sounds like something Anderson would do!"

Wolley glared back at the truck behind them where Anderson was riding. "You better not!" he said, shaking his fist. He caught a glimpse of Anderson shrugging back at him.

After ten or so minutes of silence, Toadiko spoke up. "Sooo, it feels really weird to be here without Mario doesn't it?"

"Really, really weird," sighed Mallow, resting his cheeks in his hands.

"Maybe I'm crazy but in retrospect, it feels like he led a lot of the conversations we had," commented Timpani.

"That would explain why everyone suddenly seems to be feeling as awkward as I do," muttered Shy Guy.

"Well like the Mole said, we need to cope with this new dynamic," said Mona. "I mean we all knew him (or I was at least getting to know him) but that doesn't mean we needed to rely on that." She raised her hand as if she were holding a mug. "Here's to new friendships!" she proclaimed. The rest of the team held of their hands and fake-cheered.

Right as the players were settling back down, smiles around, Wolley suddenly shouted, "You again?"

Mallow began rapidly looking around. "What is it?" he asked perplexedly.

"There!" Wolley pointed to a billboard they were approaching. The background was yellow like the surrounding sand (which had begun to clear in a few spots to reveal dry, yellow stone) and on it was a sentence written in bold, black letters.

_THE MOLE IS NEAR_

"What is with those things?" said Mona, narrowing her eyes at the sign. "They've shown up pretty much everywhere!"

"Clearly it's a clue," said Timpani. "Otherwise it wouldn't show up this much."

"Or it's trying to get into our heads," Mallow suggested nervously.

"Even the clues aim to destroy our minds," muttered Shy Guy. A few players gave him creeped out looks to which he responded with a crazy grin.

"Well if it's a clue then it's clearly a reference to the apocalypse," commented Toadiko.

"How would the apocalypse have to do with the Mole?" asked Mona.

"Well," said Toadiko, resting her hands on her temples. "If I had to guess, one of us may have been closely related to an apocalypse," she said, looking at the relevant player. The Mole cringed though whether it was because of the guess being spot on or horribly incorrect was known only to them.

The rest of the trip was spent with sparse bits of conversation. Players were mostly attempting to cope with the rough ride.

_Wolley:__ I'm glad that we had the parasol and all, but it was still hotter than Bowser's Castle out there!_

_Timpani:__ The road was often covered in sand so we found ourselves choking on the very desert we were venturing through. Also, these sand patches made the ride so bumpy that our four smaller players nearly fell out of the truck!_

They eventually saw something growing on the horizon. The players first thought it to be a mirage, but they eventually concluded it was the all-too-real city of Yellast. It wasn't incredibly large compared to most cities in the kingdom, stretching two miles across and its buildings rarely surpassed one story.

Still, some players were surprised by the settlement's size. "If this desert is so rough, how does such a big place exist here?" asked Mona, struggling to get a good look through the sand blowing in her face.

"Only species who are accustomed to desert life live here," explained Toadiko, her tone carrying a hint of defensiveness. "So mostly pokies, dryites, mousers, and bandits."

"Oh great, bandits," groaned Shy Guy, muttering a few select curses against his sister species.

When they were just a small distance outside of the small city, a plume of smoke began to rise from the very front of the car and they started to slow. "Guys," Mallow began nervously. "What's going on?"

Timpani peered towards the front of the truck. "I think the engine is overheating!" she cried with alarm. Right as the truck rolled to a stop, the players leapt out with fright.

The red truck that had been following them pulled over to their left. "Players!" shouted Anderson as he jumped out. "Welcome to Overheating Odyssey!"

Mona looked back and forth from Anderson to the smoking engine. "This is a challenge?" she shouted in disbelief. Anderson just nodded. "But the car overheating, I- you- what- how did you do that?" she finally managed to shout.

"Mysterious ways," Anderson said spookily. "But despite being purposeful, that engine overheat is indeed real so we better be quick about this! Quickly split up into groups of three."

"How do we want to split up?" Mallow quickly asked, his eyes darting from player to player as he attempted to create groups in his head.

"Why not split up by gender," suggested Shy Guy, shrugging.

"What, you don't wanna work with girls?" asked Mona, crossing her arms.

"Not what I meant," snapped Shy Guy before anyone could say another word on the topic. "It's just quick and we need to get going."

"Sounds good then," said Timpani. She grabbed the other female players by the wrists and walked up to the hosts. "Okay, we're ready!"

"Great, so which group wants to go to where we're staying tonight?" asked the host, looking between the groups.

Wolley's sweaty arm immediately shot up. "We'll totally go to our shady inn!"

"Well I'm glad you're so eager to, Mr. Ohtoad-," replied the host in his mischievous tone.

"No," muttered Wolley. "I know that tone!" He suddenly began angrily shaking his fist. "Don't you do this to me, Anderson! Don't-!"

"-Because your group won't be going anywhere near it for the whole challenge!" announced Anderson, cackling madly.

Wolley fell to his knees. "Noooooooo!"

Shy Guy gave him a light bop on the head. "Wolley, this is exactly the sort of thing we signed up for."

Wolley sighed and rose to his feet. "True. Bah, throw whatever you've got at us!"

"Okay then," Anderson said, tossing a white device at Wolley, who caught it clumsily. The host tossed another to Timpani. The device contained a small gauge separated into five colors from left to right: green, yellow, orange, red, and white. The needle was currently on yellow. "This gauge measure's the temperature of Mr. Pokervarz's truck. Green means everything's fine, but as the heat progressively rises in the desert heat, it will get closer and closer to white."

"What happens at white?" asked Toadiko. "Is the truck going to explode?" she asked as she slowly stepped away from the vehicle.

"Oh no, of course not!" insisted Anderson. "That would be too dangerous," he said innocently, ignoring the previous dangers he had placed the players in. "But when it does reach white, parts of the engine will become irreparably damage and the repairs will cost… oh I don't know, 10,000 coins!"

"I bet that's how much this challenge is worth," whispered Mallow.

"I gathered that," muttered Shy Guy, not looking over at the nimbian.

"The women's team will have the most important job," announced Anderson. Mona chuckled with satisfaction. "You all will be attempting to find the place where we will be spending the night. There rests an old water tanker. You'll need that to completely cool off the truck. Meanwhile…" He turned to the other group. "You three will need to find the local well where three buckets lay. You need to carry the water and dump it on the car as many times as possible. You won't be able to totally cool off the truck, but if you don't dump enough, it'll get into the white before Mona, Timpani, and Toadiko can make it to you!"

"Understood," said Shy Guy.

"Um, where are we staying?" asked Mona. "You kind of left out a big point."

"Oh no, I didn't leave anything out. You have to ask around! Oh and same for the well, you'll have to ask where it is," explained Anderson matter-of-factly.

"What!" shouted Wolley, jumping and flailing his arms. "Anderson, none of us speak Shroomish!"

"I guess you picked bad groups then," replied Anderson, shrugging but grinning smugly.

"Don't worry about it guys," said Toadiko, her scholarly tone was back. "The word for well is-!"

"Hold it!" shouted Anderson sternly, holding out a tentacle. "It's too late to tell them that."

"What are we supposed to do then?" argued Wolley, his face growing red.

"Weeeelesh, you'll just have to find a way to communicate that to the townsfolk," suggested Anderson.

"Didn't catch that first part," said Mallow, cupping a hand to his ear.

"I said 'Well you'll just have to find a way,'" replied Anderson. Mallow just shrugged confusedly.

"So um, when do we start?" asked Mona, bouncing from foot to foot impatiently.

"Well the timer's technically been going since you stopped so unless you have more questions, you're just wasting time!" said Anderson like it was obvious. The players stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded and unable to move out of either pure panic or pure irritation.

"Let's go!" Mallow finally screamed, waving his arms. His shout caused each player to spring into action, dashing away from the trucks and towards Yellast.

"And boys!" Anderson called after them. "If you pass out and die from dehydration you'll probably lose, so drink some of the well water if you need to!"

* * *

A walk from the trucks to the city would have taken three minutes, but the players managed to get there in one due to their panicked sprint. The boys immediately went off to the left in their rush, whereas the girls stopped to look around for a moment.

The road continued straight through the city, occasionally splintering off into other side streets. The sidewalks were made of dark orange, gritty cement. Any other patch of ground was taken up by the desert's signature yellow sand, lightly decorated with desert shrubs and palm trees. Running horizontally between the sand and the sidewalk was a large, red, rusty pipe that stayed mostly submerged in the sand before plunging underground whenever it came to a road. All the buildings seemed to have risen out of the sand and were made of bricks of yellow sandstone. They looked sturdy, certainly able to survive a sandstorm, but somewhat drab.

They decided to walk down the main street, hoping that would be where the most people were. Mona hopped up onto the red pipe and balanced on it as she walked.

"Mona!" snapped Timpani, looking over at her in disbelief. "Do you really think these people want you walking on their water source?"

Mona frowned and slowly lowered her head as she stepped down. She kept that glum appearance for all of two seconds before her head shot up with a look of childlike curiosity. "How did you know it was the water pipe?" she asked, giving the pipe a mystified look. "I thought it was oil or something!"

"Well there's no oil in the Yell-Yell Desert," informed Toadiko.

"Plus there's a sign on the pipe," said Timpani, pointing to a small sign up ahead with a blue drop on it.

Mona face-palmed with a scowl on her face. "Jeez," she snapped, stomping her foot. "If I keep missing obvious stuff like that, I'm a total gonner!"

Toadiko gave her a pat on the back as she put on her friendliest smile. "Mona, you're a great player, you don't have to worry!" "Okay you do a bit," she backpeddled, "but don't think you're oblivious or anything!"

"Yeah!" Timpani agreed, grinning. "Though please don't walk on the pipe again," she suddenly said seriously. "We don't want to make these people think we're weird considering we need their help!" She caught sight of a Dryite walking out of a building and quickly began to run up to him. "Bubarlerd!" she shouted, waving her arms. The Dryite nervously started to back up. "Toadiko!" called Timpani. "I'm more confident in your Shroomish than mine, talk to him!"

"Bubarlerst," Toadiko greeted as she walked up. The Dryite seemed to calm down a bit. "Soyuckest quet televire, Quet Tupo?" she asked. "Have you heard of the show, The Mole?" she whispered to Mona for translation.

"Pra, bway beretelk?" came the gruff voice from behind the cloth. Toadiko's face fell, clearly he had not.

"Bortedeck, yu levaywa," sighed Toadiko. "Bugrateck!"

"Bugratamp!" the Dryite replied cheerily before scurrying off.

"Sounded like he didn't know anything," said Timpani.

"Nope," sighed Toadiko. "We'll have to try others," she began to continue down the street and the other two quickly joined her.

"You two sounded awfully friendly at the end there," commented Mona, trying her best to offer thoughts on what was complete gibberish to her.

"Oh that was just a 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' sort of thing," said Toadiko. She then began to put on her scholarly voice again as she said, "Well the direct translations would be 'I thank you' and 'I give you my hospitality' respectively, but really it doesn't matter, does it?"

Mona just stared at her, her face blank. "Much complications," she managed to blurt out.

"I'm afraid our friend here is having trouble with the language barrier," Timpani muttered loudly to Toadiko.

Mona stomped her foot angrily. "It's not my fault, I was told that learning other languages wasn't that important!" she explained frustratedly.

"Who told you that?" asked Toadiko, raising her eyebrows.

_Toadiko:__ You gotta wonder what kind of person would disregard other languages like that, it's-_

"Wario!" explained Mona. "He told me I only need two languages: English and punching!"

_Toadiko:__ Oh dear lord, who else could I have possibly expected?_

* * *

**Author's Notes: So in case it wasn't obvious, Shroomish is a made up language. I'm not really capable of forming dialogue in any other languages and I refuse to resort to the horrors of Google Translate. So yeah, it's essentially gibberish, structured gibberish, but still admittedly gibberish. Still, it's giving our players a unique challenge, eh?**

**Also, for some reason, getting down to six players feels weird. In every other episode it's been a bit of a struggle to make sure every character gets dialogue, but now suddenly I find myself thinking I'm forgetting a character when everyone's gotten their fair share. This should hopefully allow me to be a little more free with the dialogue and focus a bit more on good conversation than spreading the love. I'll admit it's still really weird though. Also, as I've pointed out, losing Mario makes dialogue a bit different considering he was almost always the straight man.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys like the episode so far! Let me know what you think of the chapter in general, the latest challenge, the new location, and/or the identity of the Mole in a review, I'd appreciate it! I'd also appreciate it if you checked out the pole on my profile. It's a simple "Who is the Mole" questionnaire for Episode 5 that will be up until part 4 is posted.**


	18. Wrathful Sun

**Author's Note's: In the interest of having detailed episodes without enormous chapters or breaks at times I find awkward, Episode 5 will officially be a 5-parter! This will likely be the case for episodes 6, 7, and 8 as well. Anywho, enjoy the chapter!**

_Episode 5 Part 2_

"Step up and watch the idiots!"

"Wolley, please," sighed Shy Guy. "I know this is humiliating, but you don't have to shout," he said, resting his hands on his temples.

"What's it matter?" snapped Wolley. His face had been contorted into a snarl for the last ten minutes out of frustration. "It's not like anyone can understand us!" he shouted, stomping at the ground. His face was red from the heat and the fact that the other two didn't seem to be bothered by the heat was farther agitating him (though he didn't realize that neither shy guys nor nimbians showed any outward signs of overheating).

Shy Guy caught sight of a mouser and approached him. He began saying "water" and making drinking motions, but like the others he had seen, this citizen gave him a disturbed look and walked away quickly.

"Shy Guy, this is getting worrying," called Mallow. He was almost floating as he moved from foot to foot with all the water he'd lost.

Shy Guy put his hands on his teammates' shoulders. Mallow looked up warily and Wolley glared. "Listen guys, I know I'm no Mario, but listen to me: at the very least we need to try to make it through this part of the challenge."

"I can't deal with this heat," grumbled Wolley, fanning himself.

Shy Guy huffed angrily and began to glare at the Toad. "I don't mean to be rude here, but I am in a heavy cloak, so I suggest you get up and find that well, otherwise you'll be responsible for my heat stroke."

Wolley jumped up, his face stricken with surprise. "Oh crap, man! I didn't even think about that!" He began quickly looking around. "Leave it to me!" he shouted and ran up to a green pokey. "What. Is. Water?" he said very clearly and made a drinking motion.

The pokey gave him a confused look before saying slowly and with botched pronunciation, "You English?" Wolley nodded vigorously, grinning. The pokey thought deeply, perhaps recalling something from junior high. "Weter," he began. Wolley excused the mispronunciation. "Weter is 'aguato'."

"Yes!" cheered Wolley. "Thanks, sir!"

The pokey clearly didn't understand what Wolley was saying anymore, but he could tell the toad was grateful. "Bugratamp," he said, waddling off.

"Wait!" called Wolley. The pokey turned around slowly. "What. Is. Well?" asked the toad calmly.

"No understand," replied the pokey, walking off again.

"Wow, Wolley, that was a sudden change of heart!" Mallow said cheerily as Wolley returned.

"Eh, I'll allow myself to be a jerk and a trickster, but I'd prefer not to give anyone a heat stroke! Plus Shy Guy seems like a pretty decent dude," admitted Wolley, giving Shy Guy a concerned look.

"Thanks," muttered Shy Guy, wiping his brow despite the lack of visible sweat.

"What exactly did you find out?" asked Mallow hopefully.

"Well I don't have the word for well," began Wolley. His teammates' faces fell. "But! I know the word for water: aguato! That will make things a lot easier."

"I got this!" shouted Mallow, jumping up into the air. Shy Guy and Wolley noticed that he didn't fall, but slowly drifted back to the ground.

As the nimbian ran off, Wolley turned to Shy Guy. "Is it just me or has he gotten floatier since we've entered the desert?"

"Well he _is_ a cloud, maybe he's evaporated a bit," theorized Shy Guy, shrugging.

Mallow floated over to a bandit in a purple robe. "Um, bubalurst?" he attempted to greet.

The bandit chuckled a bit. "Bubarlerst," he greeted back. "Inglish?"

Mallow nodded vigorously. "Yes, English!"

"No speak," said the bandit, shrugging innocently. Mallow sighed, but then suddenly perked up.

_Mallow:__ If this guy knew I didn't speak Shroomish, maybe he'd look at my gestures as attempts to communicate instead of crazy shenanigans like the others!_

Mallow kneeled down on the rough sidewalk and pointed at the ground. "Aguato?" He then began to exaggeratedly scan the horizon. "Agauto in…," he pointed at the ground.

"Quet welesh?" asked the bandit, hoping he was getting the idea.

"Welesh?" asked Mallow.

"Agauto," the bandit paused, searching for the right word. "Aguato de," he pointed to the ground. He clearly didn't realize de was a Spanish word, but Mallow got the idea.

"Yes!" replied Mallow, nodding. The bandit thought for a moment before getting up and walking down the street. Mallow's face fell, but the bandit suddenly turned around and waved for him to follow. "Guys, come on!" Mallow called gleefully. Shy Guy and Wolley quickly caught up with him.

"I'm impressed," commented Shy Guy.

"Nice job, dude!" cheered Wolley, giving Mallow a pat on the back and accidentally knocking him forward a few feet.

When they arrived at the well, the three players cheered, jumping up and down (well Shy Guy gave a quiet "wew" and stood on his toes, but the thought was the same). The bandit simply held out his hand expectantly. "Huh?" asked Mallow, giving the hand a confused look.

"I think he wants you to pay him," whispered Shy Guy. Mallow sighed and pulled out three blue coins.

"Um, any chance I'll get some of this back from you two?" Mallow asked innocently as he plopped the coins into the bandit's awaiting hands. The bandit grinned and scurried off.

"Maybe," shrugged Wolley. Mallow sighed.

"Okay guys, let's find those buckets and get a quick drink," urged Shy Guy. They scurried about the small patch of sand the well was located in. Mallow found his bucket behind the well, confirming that the buckets were separate.

Shy Guy found his behind a shrub and was about to mention it to his teammates when he saw the note and nail inside. He picked up the small slip of paper and gasped quietly.

_ "Poke a hole in your bucket and this episode's sole exemption is yours._"

"Found mine!" called Wolley, rushing up to the well to get some water. "Shy Guy, found yours?"

"Yes, of course," replied Shy Guy in a voice slightly louder than normal. He walked up and took a huge gulp of water and gave a satisfied sigh.

"Alright, let's grab some water and move out!" cheered Mallow. He and the others quickly filled their buckets and made their way back towards the trucks, paying close attention to the way back.

As the entrance to the desert came into view, Wolley casually glanced over at Shy Guy and instantly recoiled in shock. "Shy Guy!" he shouted.

Shy Guy whirled towards the toad. "Huh?" he asked.

"Why the hell is your bucket empty?" he asked, pointing to the object in question.

Shy Guy gasped and peered into the bucket. "There appears to be a small hole in the bottom," he announced grimly.

Wolley groaned. "Nice job, Mole! Now get back to the well and fill it back up, but this time keep the hole covered!" he ordered crossly.

"No need to go pointing fingers," muttered Shy Guy, beginning to walk back.

"Whatever, Mr. Gender-lines," grunted Wolley.

"I doubt he's the Mole," said Mallow. "He doesn't really seem like the type."

"A: how naïve of you," replied Wolley, kicking sand as he walked. "B: regardless, I'm pissed. I hate deserts and I don't really want any challenges here to be ruined."

After a few minutes of walking in awkward silence (Mallow didn't have much to say to grumpy Wolley) the duo arrived at the car. "Jeez, that's hot," Wolley finally said. The truck was uncomfortable to get near due to the amount of heat it was exerting. Wolley pulled the gauge out of his pocket, it was already between orange and red. "This isn't good," he said with a sigh.

Mallow reached for the hood when Wolley suddenly slapped his hand out of the way. "You do realize that thing will fry your hands, right?" he snapped, a hint of worry present in his tone. He then ever-so-slightly kicked the front of the car, causing the hood to pop open and release a plume of hot smoke. "That's how it's done!" he said with a grin. Mallow smiled a little at seeing the Toad's attitude improve. Wolley tossed the water onto the engine with a stylish flick of his wrists and began to run back to town. "Hurry up, Mallow!" he ordered. "The only reason my mood's so good is because I know there's a chance we can finish the challenge early and get into some shade!"

* * *

"Soyuckest quet televire, Quet Tupo?" Toadiko asked for the umpteenth time.

"Pra," grunted the whomp she was talking to, quickly stomping off.

"Jeez!" steamed Toadiko as she stomped over to Mona. "This is just… gah!" She sat down and wiped her brow. She was clearly suffering much more than her human companions in the desert heat and was quickly growing agitated by it. She turned to Mona who was sitting calmly on the sidewalk. "You're driving us once we find the tanker, you know," she said.

"Yes," sighed Mona. "So you've said three times already," she said exasperatedly.

"I have?" Toadiko asked confusedly.

"Yes," Mona said bluntly. "In case you haven't noticed, the desert is driving you crazy!"

"Just a bit," sighed Toadiko. "Plus the fact that this is becoming hopeless doesn't help."

"Hopeless?" gasped Mona. "Toadiko, this is so not like you!"

"Just… deserts. Not my thing," grunted the toad.

Mona giggled a bit. "You sounded just like Wolley there!"

"Wha-!"

"Guys!" called Timpani. "We're in luck!" Her two teammates quickly hopped up and ran towards her. Timpani fished the gauge from her pocket and groaned. "It's already in the red, we better hurry! We're staying at a small Inn called Quet Wovon, the night, about a quarter mile to the South of us. Let's go!" They ran as fast as they could, to the point where Toadiko was sure she was going to collapse from heat exhaustion, but they eventually made it with no casualties.

The inside of Quet Wovon was drastically different. While the outside was bland sandstone, the inside was light, vibrant, and covered in wood. The building's design seemed to mimic traditional Japanese homes with fairly open, sparsely furnished rooms separated by sliding door that matched the walls. As lovely as the interior design was, the most appealing part of the building was the air conditioning. All three girls sighed with relief as they entered the building.

The receptionist was a dryite (a turban-wearing sister species of the toads) woman with a long, blonde bang and cat-eye glasses wearing a red turban. "Would you three happen to be from The Mole?" she asked in perfect English.

Mona sighed happily when her native language reached her ears. "You bet, lady!" she chirped.

"Perfect," replied the receptionist. Though the turban obscured her mouth, the players could tell she grinned. "If you ladies would just step out back, I will bring you the keys to the tanker, 'k?"

"Awesome, thanks!" replied Mona, skipping towards the back of the building (despite not knowing where the back door actually was). Toadiko quickly followed and Timpani was the last one to leave, casting the friendly receptionist a smile.

Outside, Mona was tapping her foot impatiently. "Timpani, how far is the meter?" she said upon seeing her fellow human.

Timpani held up the gauge and put a hand along the top to block the glare. "It's… hard to read," she muttered. "Looks about a quarter of the way through the red. It seems to be going slowly enough that we won't have to hurry too much."

"Really?" asked Toadiko, clearly surprised.

"I think so," said Timpani, straining to look at the gauge.

Before anyone else could stay anything, a blue water tanker backed into the small alley, billowing smoke from the tailpipe. The receptionist hopped out, landing skillfully in her red heels. "Here you go," she said, casually tossing a set of blue keys to Mona.

* * *

Shy Guy dumped a half empty bucket onto the car's engine. The other half-bucket of water had soaked the cloaked hand plugging the hole in the bucket and evaporated quickly afterward. He looked down at the bucket with a mix of regret and satisfaction before trotting back down the road. Fifty yards outside of the city, he saw Mallow in an interesting predicament.

"Um, Mallow you appear to be floating," commented the masked man, giving the situation a quizzical look.

Mallow was frantically flailing his arms and legs from a few feet up in the air. "This is what exactly what happens when nimbians go to the desert!" he shouted panickedly. "I'm gonna evaporate, man!" he cried, flailing even harder.

Wolley ran up, carrying a full bucket of water. "Woah, Mallow, since when could you fly?" he asked excitedly.

"I'm not flying on purpose, I'm evaporating!" snapped the weatherman.

"We've already been over this," whispered Shy Guy, rolling his eyes a bit.

"This is why clouds avoid the desert!" cried Mallow, going a few inches higher.

"Isn't that due to, like, weather patterns and stuff?" asked Wolley confusedly as he stared up.

"Well for _some_ of them!" said Mallow. "But haven't you seen the clouds with the faces? Those guys are sentient, man!"

"I think we're getting off topic here," muttered Shy Guy.

"Right!" cried Mallow, shaking his fist. "So shut up, Wolley, and save me!"

"'Shut up' is an awfully rude thing to the guy who could save you," replied Wolley smugly.

"Wolley!" snapped Shy Guy, punching the toad on the shoulder.

"Ouch, fine!" groaned Wolley. "Whaddya want me to do?"

"I just need you to lift my bucket to me. A small sip of water should be enough to at least keep me grounded and it should harm our progress," instructed Mallow calmly.

"Why do I need to do it?" asked Wolley earnestly, looking at the heavy bucket of water.

"Are you implying I have muscle?" joked Shy Guy quietly.

Wolley chuckled. "Fine then, but not enough to hurt the challenge."

"Because the life of a prince is only worth 10,000 coins," sighed Mallow, rolling his eyes. Wolley grabbed the bucket and used his considerable (for smaller beings anyways) strength to lift the pail up to the floating player. Mallow quickly took a gulp from the pail, immediately causing him to drift downward until his feet hit the sandy earth once again. "Thank you so much, Wolley, you saved my life!" cried Mallow, embracing the player.

Wolley awkwardly backed out of Mallow's grip. "Yes, well, no problem bro, take care."

"Somebody doesn't like hugs," deadpanned Shy Guy, opening his arms and slowly waddling towards Wolley.

"You hate them more!" replied Wolley nervously, backing away.

"Making others awkward outweighs everything," droned Shy Guy, moving faster. Wolley screamed and took off down the road, bucket in tow.

Mallow chuckled. "You're cool, Shy Guy!"

Shy Guy simply shrugged. "If that's how you wanna put it." He then grabbed his bucket and began walking back towards town.

"Um yeah," muttered Mallow as the actor walked away. He looked down with a sigh and began to walk towards the car, still floating a bit with each step.

* * *

"We're lost aren't we?" sighed Timpani from the back seat.

Toadiko strained her eyes from the passenger seat. "It's hard to recognize landmarks out here!" she snapped.

"Then why did you use that as justification to sit up front?" retorted Timpani .

_Timpani:__ Toadiko flaunted knowing all these things about the Yell-Yell Desert, but it looks like her confidence didn't completely result in success._

"Well _maybe_ if you had been better at reading the gauge, then we would have been a little more hasty!" shouted Toadiko.

"There was a glare!" grunted Timpani, slouching in her seat.

"Girls!" shouted Mona, shutting the two up. "Now I know this challenge is stressful and you all don't want to admit your failures-."

"Our failures?" shouted Timpani and Toadiko.

"Jeez!" snapped Mona. "We can get into literally heated arguments later, somebody needs to find a way out of here first!"

"There's one," deadpanned Timpani as they came to an intersection leading to the main road.

"Great Koopa's Ghost!" exclaimed Mona. "Hold on to your flesh!"

"Well that was creepYYYYYYYY!" screamed Toadiko as Mona slammed on the accelerator, slamming everyone back into their seats. The speed was causing everyone to feel as if their skin was being pushed back.

_Toadiko:__ It was then that I knew exactly what she meant. Also I discovered the true meaning of terror. I swear if she's the Mole, "giving the other players heart attacks" is her strangest strategy yet!_

The truck was coming into sight and the players began cheering with delight (failing to notice that Wolley had to dive out of the way in order to avoid certain doom, spilling his bucket in the process). But, just as they were pulling to a stop, a humongous plume of smoke shot up out of the engine, releasing a toxic smell into the air.

"That can't be good," gasped Mona.

Timpani pulled out the gauge. "Game over."

* * *

"Ouch, lost at the last second," chortled Anderson, gaining him a few glares. "Now I'm not sure about you all, but I noticed a whole lot of things done wrong in this challenge. But there's one wrong thing that was done right." The players looked at him confusedly. "Shy Guy!" he called. The actor immediately stood up, a look of guilt slapped across his face. "You found special instructions inside one of the buckets, did you not?"

Shy Guy nodded grimly. "I did."

"And what did it say?"

"I would win the episode's only exemption if I stabbed a hole in my bucket," admitted Shy Guy.

"You what?" shouted Wolley and Toadiko, simultaneously jumping up in outrage.

_Toadiko__: Did I pick the wrong guy to form an alliance with?_

"Dude you knew we were suffering out there, but you still made it all for nothing?" snapped Wolley.

"You would have done the same," replied Shy Guy calmly. The two toads paused to contemplate.

"Okay yeah," admitted Toadiko.

"I definitely would have," agreed Wolley.

"Guys!" gasped Mallow.

"What the heck?" groaned Timpani. Mona simply giggled at the two.

"I'm sure most, if not all, of you would have taken that exemption," said Anderson, pulling out a green card. "Anywho, Shy Guy, you have earned the only exemption in this episode! At this point in the game, exemptions are more powerful than ever."

"I understand," replied Shy Guy, taking the card and tucking it securely in his cloak.

After a short silence, Wolley began to speak with a sheepish grin on his face. "So," he began, staring at the smoking truck. "Um, I guess we broke Mr. Pokervarz's truck."

"Indeed," replied the host. "Those repairs will cost 10,000 coins, so that's no money earned towards the team pot.

**103,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**0 coins**

**Result: 103,000 coins**

**Possible: 227,000 coins**

"Now let us begin the long walk back," instructed Anderson.

"Can't we take the water tanker?" asked Toadiko, looking longingly at the air conditioned vehicle.

Anderson cackled to himself. "Of course not!" Without another word, he began walking down the road towards Yellast. As the players followed him, they noticed that the sun had finally began to set, turning the yellow sands into a sea of fiery orange. The players took the distracting scenery as a chance to look away from the rest of the group and reflect on the challenge.

_Mallow:__ Wolley took ages to help me get hydrated. He just kept arguing and arguing! Each second was precious, but he just let me hang up there as the clock ran!_

_Toadiko:__ Timpani's trouble reading the gauge was very suspicious. I mean being unsure is one thing, but she told us we wouldn't have to rush! Really, why would she say that? Any legitimate player would want us to rush!_

_Mona:__ I feel like the only thing Timpani and Toadiko's bickering did was hold us back. Was one of them just trying to egg the other one on? *sigh* Another thing for the notebook!_

By the time they made it back to the small inn, Anderson had gotten ahead of them and was now waiting at the front of the building, a grim expression on his face. "Players, I'm afraid we're out of a place to sleep tonight." Gasps arose out of the crowd, followed by expectant looks. "I assume you want to know why this is. Well, one of the power lines leading to Quet Wovon has been damaged, so they are cutting the ac from some of the rooms to leave enough power to cool the others."

"Um, Anderson?" questioned Mallow. "Deserts aren't hot at night, in fact they can get to freezing!"

"Well then they must have been talking about heating, my mistake," explained the host.

"But that still wouldn't work!" protested Mallow. "By not heating some rooms you'll end up lowering the temperature of the whole building!"

"And how would you know?" asked Anderson, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a weatherman, remember?" snapped Mallow.

"Yes, well that doesn't change the fact that we're not staying here tonight," stated Anderson matter-of-factly.

"Are we going to sleep in the streets then?" asked Toadiko, eyeing the nearby bandits nervously.

"Of course not! We will be continuing our journey, this time heading East!" announced the host, pointing in said direction.

"Already?" asked Timpani skeptically. "This isn't the normal modus operandi."

"What, did you guys really think we'd be staying in this town for the whole episode?" asked Anderson.

"Like she said, modus operandi," commented Shy Guy with little enthusiasm.

"This desert is far too vast for that sort of lollygagging!" snapped Anderson, waving his tentacles in the air with mock fury. "So tonight we'll hike out of Yellast and set up camp near the edge of the Grand Bluffs."

"H-hike?" panted Wolley, his feet trembling weakly.

"Come on, it's good for you!" insisted Anderson. "I bet you had a new year's resolution to get in shape didn't you?"

"Well, to get more buff, yeah," replied Wolley, feeling his biceps.

"Then this will make your legs more buff!" said Anderson, grinning.

"Toads don't have legs," deadpanned Wolley, motioning to the feet directly attached to his body.

"And bloopers don't have mouths, yet I can talk and you notice my smug grins," commented Anderson, grinning smugly once again.

"Yeeeeaaaah… that makes no f #&ing sense," said Wolley, staring at the host's face.

"None at all," muttered Toadiko, sighing slightly at the other toad's foul language.

"Sooo," said Anderson. "Off we march!" And with that the host hopped off the inn's front porch and down a side road, slowly leading the players out of the city.

By the time they emerged into the open desert, the sun had set and the rising moon was giving the sands a cool bluish tone. Fortunately it had yet to get cold, but was instead a pleasant temperature one would expect to find in Toad Town in late spring.

"This… isn't bad!" Wolley commented pleasantly.

"Indeed," replied Shy Guy, shaking his robe to let the cool breeze get in.

"Are you sure about the whole freezing part?" Timpani asked Mallow concernedly.

"I mean it's certainly possible, but I'm not educated on Yell-Yell's climate," said Mallow, trying use as smart of a voice as possible. "Toadiko, do you know how cold it gets here?"

"Not usually colder than fifty Fahrenheit," commented Toadiko, matching his intelligent tone.

Mallow grinned and sighed happily. "Not bad at all!"

"Hectic by day, chill by night, this desert is a reverse Batman!" commented Mona gleefully.

"Don't mention Batman, please," groaned Wolley, covering his arm (despite having washed off his terrible art long ago).

Toadiko chuckled lightly. "Don't be so self-conscious about it, Wolley!" she said pleasantly.

_Wolley:__ Well that was the friendliest Toadiko's been towards me in a while. I don't wanna get my hopes up or anything, but is she already feeling better?_

_Mona:__ Those two just need to make up and be friends again! All my secret shipping will go to waste otherwise! Oh, I shouldn't by shipping my teammates? Shush, you know they'd be cool together!_

* * *

**Big Ol' Author's Notes: **

**And that's probably the last you'll hear of the ship. Regardless, even in the light of tensions and failure, the players seem to be getting along quite well by nightfall. Perhaps it's the lack of desert heat making them return to their senses, or perhaps the Mole is going easy on them.**

**Anywho, a few things to discuss about the story:**

**Firstly, I've created a deviantart account! I've already moved the clues over to that account (links are in my profile) and that's where I'll be uploading any images from now on. Of course, I'll make sure and say when I upload something via an author's note. I've already uploaded several new things to that account. The first is the latest clue! I definitely suggest checking this once out; it's a map of the Yell-Yell Desert, so even if you don't see any clues as to the identity of the Mole, you will get a taste of the rest of the game's locations. That's right, all of them. The second half is way more planned out than the first one (which should hopefully lessen writer's block). In fact, I actually have plans for all of the remaining challenges except for one (the last challenge of Episode 7 to be exact).**

**The other thing I've uploaded to deviantart is a whole folder of bios for the players! Each player has a nice little graphic with their name, birthday, job, and a little description of their strengths and suspicious qualities, all coupled with artwork for each character. I definitely suggest checking those out, I have a link to the folder in my profile.**

**Next, I've made a few changes to the story you may notice. The most obvious is probably the new cover image with art of each player. I also gave the story a new, edgier description, and the titles of the first three chapters have been changed (fairly arbitrarily, don't think too hard about it).**

**Lastly, I'm slowly going through the old chapters and making edits. It's nothing worth going back and rereading for (though feel free), mainly fixing typos, minor dialogue edits (such as giving Jolene a bit more of a personality and taking the "-a"s out of Mario's dialogue), and taking the "politician" part out of Mallow and Daisy's jobs. The job edits are mainly because I never really incorporated that into their personalities and it was really just there to fit in with canon.**

**Got this episode out in exactly 3 weeks, which certainly isn't bad considering school has started back up. I'll try to maintain this pace or faster for you guys. Ciao!**

**~Vivalahomestar**


	19. The Mole: Fiend's Burrow Remix

_Episode 5 Part 3_

A chain of mountains rose on the horizon as the players continued their nighttime trek through the desert. It was a little starling to see mountains on the horizon after seeing it flat for so long, but it was a relief to have a break from the monotony.

"And those would be the Grand Bluffs," announced Anderson, pointing towards the nearly vertical cliff faces on some of the mountains.

"Not a fan," sighed Toadiko, trying not to imagine the heights.

"We will not be camping too close to the bluffs though," said Anderson. "Vicious packs of chain-chomps are known to prowl those peaks at night, so we shall sleep at an overly safe distance. Somewhere like," he paused for a moment to consider. "Right here!"

Wolley flopped onto the sand in relief. "Thank goodness!" he cheered. "My legs are killing me!"

"Didn't you say you don't have legs?" asked Mallow.

"Literally right before we started this hike," commented Timpani, clearly irritated.

"Well then my not-legs are killing me!" snapped Wolley. "Why are we questioning complaints that toads have been making for millennia?"

_Timpani:__ I swear that man is the biggest complainer I've ever met. Perhaps I should diagnose him with chronic whininess._

"I hope you all know how to put up tents," commented Anderson as a van drove up. Several crew members jumped out of the van and unloaded a few boxes of tents and supplies, as well as the players' bags. Each player quickly grabbed tent supplies and got to work.

Mallow spotted Shy Guy with a tent canvas and poles and edged over to him with a bundle of pegs and a hammer. "So," he began awkwardly as he helped hammer one of the tent corners into the ground. "Shy Guy, I was wondering if you'd maybe like to maybe form a coalition with me," he said quietly.

_Shy Guy:__ Two coalition offers in one round? Why am I suddenly so popular? Well, perhaps I can play this to my advantage…_

_Mallow:__ I know that offer seemed sudden, but that's because it totally was. I'll admit that I would have been totally lost without Mario's help. Even though I'm getting a better grasp on the game, I feel like it would be helpful to team up with a smart player again… I really hope he's not the Mole._

Shy Guy slowed his tent-building, beginning to think deeply. "I'll have to sleep on it," he said, casting a quick glance over towards Toadiko. "I will get back to you about it tomorrow morning, but the answer is likely yes."

Mallow grinned. "I look forward to your decision!" he cheered quietly. "But um we should probably keep working on this tent before anyone notices."

Shy Guy grinned sheepishly. "Right," he muttered, quickly returning to his work.

Over at another tent, Toadiko and Timpani were discussing suspicions. "So basically, I think all the suspicion from this challenge rests on the men," concluded Toadiko, securing a corner of the tent into the ground.

"It certainly is suspicious how Wolley stalled so much throughout his part of the game," concurred Timpani, struggling to get the tent to stay up.

"You've suspected him from the start, haven't you?" asked Toadiko, moving over to help her with the tent.

"I- Toadiko you're a little too short for this- I have," said Timpani.

Toadiko backed off from the job dejectedly. Sitting down, she commented, "I guess that's been working out."

"Indee- got it! Indeed, so it's him, or maybe someone close to him," said Timpani. She backed up and admired her handiwork. The tent immediately collapsed. "Gah!"

"Someone close," said Toadiko, thinking. "Well answer-wise, I think both of the other boys are close to him."

"Do you now?" grunted Timpani as she once again attempted to set up the tent.

"Yeah," said Toadiko. "Mallow's one of my suspects, he may fit the bill."

"Why him in particular?" asked Timpani, once again backing up to admire her work.

"He's a little too innocent," explained Toadiko. The tent collapsed again.

"I see what you mean," said Timpani, sighing and once again beginning tent construction.

"Yeah, he acts very sweet and innocent so we just feel bad for him when he messes up, it's a great cover!" concluded Toadiko, attempting to keep quiet despite her excitement over her deduction.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Timpani as she had the tent held up. This time she was afraid to let go.

"Yo Timpani, need some help?" called Wolley from the inside of his perfectly constructed tent.

"Yes!" screamed the psychologist with relief (though a little bit begrudgingly).

Wolley hopped out of his tent, walked over to Timpani and Toadiko's tent, and snapped something into place. "Okay now back up," he ordered. Timpani did so and the tent stayed sturdy.

"Thank you so much Wolley!" cheered Timpani, giving him a quick hug.

"Um, you're welcome," replied the toad awkwardly. He then walked to the center of their semi-circle of tents to find fire supplies.

Timpani caught a glimpse of Toadiko's amused look. "I still suspect him!" she snapped

Said suspect was currently setting up a bundle of logs for a fire. Mona soon emerged from the tent and walked up to him. "So do they teach you this sort of stuff at Peach's Castle?" she asked skeptically.

"At the ol' Posh Palace?" chuckled Wolley. "No way, I don't think it ever crossed the princess's mind. Nah, me and Yvan learned this stuff from the bros themselves."

"I guess that would be necessary on an adventure," said Mona. "My coworkers, Kat and Ana, tried to teach me how to camp, but evidently I'm not made for that sorta stuff."

"What are you made for then?" asked Wolley, striking a match and backing away from the kindling.

"Business," answered Mona as the wood burst into flames.

"Oh?" asked Wolley. "No offense, but I wouldn't have guessed you're a businesswoman."

"I've worked at around a dozen businesses since high school. I owned a few of them before I got bored and sold them," said Mona.

Wolley fought the urge to let his jaw drop. "A d-dozen!" he gasped, shocked.

Mona giggled. "Bet you didn't expect me to be so well rounded, did ya?" she asked, winking.

"Be honest with me, I'll keep your secret," began Wolley. "You're waaaay smarter than you act, aren't you?"

"Well maybe not _waaaaaay_ smarter, but way smarter, yeah," replied Mona.

"Well then, you've just ascended my suspect list quite a few spaces," admitted Wolley.

"Then I guess I'll be seeing you get executed soon," replied Mona, her tone surprisingly cold.

Wolley looked at Mona uneasily. "Hey guys, the fire is ready!" he shouted quickly. Mona chortled quietly.

* * *

Anderson had woken the players up early, justifying it with something along the lines of "you're going to walk so far today that your feet are going to fall off," much to many of the players' (particularly Wolley's) dismay.

Midway through the morning, they came to a large concrete strip running as far as they could see north and south. Several sets of train tracks ran down the strip. They appeared to be the cleanest things in the desert.

"Train tracks," sighed Timpani with relief. "Are we riding a train through the rest of the desert?" she asked hopefully.

"One day, maybe," answered Anderson. Several players prepared to clap before he interrupted them with, "But not today."

Wolley groaned angrily. "What's the point of making us walk through this oven of a region? A train would be so much faster!"

"The trains are running North and South. Like I said yesterday, we're going East," Anderson replied calmly.

"I don't like East. East is a dumb direction now," grumbled Wolley.

"Way to sound intelligent," snorted Toadiko. She fanned herself with her hand, a futile effort to cool off. "But I agree, it's not at all nice out here. Anderson, how far are we from our destination?"

Anderson shrugged. "You can see the bluffs as well as I," he said, motioning to the mountains looming ever-higher on the horizon.

"I'd guess about two miles," estimated Shy Guy, squinting as the blazing sun shone in his eyes.

A crew member whispered something to Anderson. "I guess you're right, Mr. Maskio!"

"Yay, what do I win?" asked Shy Guy sarcastically. He made a gesture similar to that of a star-struck child. Had his tone not been blatantly sarcastic, it would have been convincing.

"You win an exemption, only valid for this episode," said Anderson, stifling laughter.

Shy Guy pulled out his already-earned exemption with a look of wonder. His demeanor had changed. He was standing taller and looked significantly less uncomfortable. "Well golly!" he said. His voice was loud, youthful, and energetic, lacking his usual cynical and awkward edge. "Thanks a bundle, Mr. Blooper! I just know this is going to keep me safe from that big, scary Mole!" It was safe to say that the other players were just a bit horrified.

_Mona:__ What the heck was that?! Quiet, cynical Shy Guy suddenly turned into a loud, enthusiastic boy that talked like it was fifty years ago! Who is he and what has he done with Shy Guy?_

_Wolley:__ It's always a little alarming when Shy Guy busts out his acting skills. It makes you remember that he could be lying at any moment and you would never know it._

_Shy Guy:__ Gee-wilikers it was fun scaring everyone like that!_

Shy Guy fell on to his back, suddenly unleashing a barrage of cackling. Everyone else (host included) simply stared at him as he laughed and laughed. After a while, the actor stood up, clearly having returned to normal demeanor. "What?" he whimpered when he saw their stares.

"Players, I think we may have found a player more psychotic than me," announced Anderson.

"Because I can act?" asked Shy Guy, slightly offended.

"Well more the sudden change in personality," began Anderson awkwardly.

"And then the laughter," added Mallow.

"And how that all contradicts your shy personality," finished Timpani.

"My anxiety vanishes when I act," explained Shy Guy, sighing.

Toadiko gave him a pat on the back. "That's a good enough explanation for me!" she said. "Plus it _was_ kind of hilarious," she added.

"Never said it wasn't hilarious," muttered the host.

"Yeah yeah, we all love Shy Guy, he's hilarious and shouldn't feel bad, let's cut the cliché and get a move on," snapped Wolley.

"How ru-," began Toadiko.

"Seconded, let's go," said Shy Guy, continuing on towards the mountains.

* * *

The bluffs were now less than a mile away and the ground was changing. The sand had begun to change from the yellow color to more of a brown and patches of solid, brown rock were starting to break up the sand.

The group had been traveling in awkward silence for a while, but Mona finally spoke up. "So Anderson, if you're bilingual, how come you haven't spoken a lick of Shroomish to us before this episode?"

"Well I figured most, if not all of you, along with most of our viewers don't understand it, so what's the point?" replied Anderson. "Like, would you understand the phrase _falos tole capras_?"

"No, what's it mean?" asked Mona.

"Easier than death," replied the host. Mona's expression turned to disturbed, much to Toadiko's amusement. "See, not only do you not know what it translates to, you don't really know the meaning."

"I-I guess not," replied Mona, still wary of the phrase.

"Shroomish emerged in a fierce desert like this one (though much larger). A place so fierce it became known as Caprasario, or place of death," Anderson began to explain. "Death has always been a deep part of the culture of any peoples who speak Shroomish because their landscape made it that way. Falos tole capras emerged as a sort of dark humor in Caprasario. Since death was so prevalent, it was joked to be the easiest thing possible."

"Interesting," said Mona, trying to digest the information.

"So why pick that phrase in particular? You could have made your point about speaking Shroomish with any phrase, why that one?" asked Timpani, suspicion evident in her tone.

"Because your next mission will not be easier than death," said Anderson. "In fact it will be a lot harder than death. Of course you knew that already." As he said that, they walked into the Grand Bluffs area, right between two huge rock spires.

"Why would we?" asked Timpani, trailing off as something colorful began to come into view.

"There appears to be something behind that pillar," commented Shy Guy. Indeed, as they came around the corner, they discovered something quite unexpected.

"To answer your question, Timpani, you know how hard this mission, or should I say _these missions_ are because you've already played them!" He walked over to the unexpected colorful object and made a grand wave towards it. "Welcome to the Remix Carnival!"

What had before been a flat, 300 by 300 foot square of land between mountains was now filled with 11 carnival tents of varying color. Each was adorned with flashing rainbow lights. "Well… well I certainly never would have expected to find that here!" admitted Toadiko.

"Always expect the unexpected!" said Anderson, wiggling his eyebrows.

"So could you explain what's going on here?" asked Mallow, giving the carnival a perplexed look.

"I could," began Anderson. "But first you all need to choose some roles! I need someone who likes motor vehicles, someone who likes to play games, someone who's a good shot, someone who has keen eyes, someone who has good long term memory, and last but not least, someone who's brave!"

"That's one for each of us," said Mallow.

"Too bad there's not one for someone who can count," snorted Wolley. Mallow simply glared at him.

"I love motor vehicles," said Mona, her hand shooting up.

"Yeah, she's the best for the job," said Toadiko. "I have keen eyes, if you all are fine with me taking that."

Shy Guy nodded. "And I volunteer Wolley for the brave role."

Several players nodded in agreement. "Well fine," accepted Wolley. "I prefer the term 'macho and foolish' though," he said, getting a few chuckles. "You should have the good shot role, we know all too well how good of a shot you are."

"We do," sighed Mallow, recalling the second challenge of the game. "Can I take the games one?" he asked.

"I have no problem with that!" said Mona.

"Me neither," added Wolley.

"Go for it," said Timpani. "And that leaves me with good long term memory."

"You have a good memory, right?" Wolley asked nervously. Timpani nodded and grinned a little smugly.

_Timpani:__ I'm really glad I got long term memory, this will be a piece of cake, whatever it is._

_Wolley:__ 'Brave' seems pretty general. I feel like Anderson's gonna whip up something evil for me…_

"Are you all sure about your roles?" asked Anderson.

"As long as you don't plan on giving us the exact opposite of what we asked," muttered Shy Guy.

"Surprisingly enough, you're getting exactly what you asked for," said Anderson. "Now this is a rare occurrence so enjoy it while it lasts!" He cleared his throat and stepped to the side to give the players a better view of the carnival. "Anywho, this challenge is (unsurprisingly) called Remix Carnival! Here you will get a choice between at least two different challenges based on the role you've picked. Though as the name suggests, these aren't just any challenges," he paused for dramatic effect, "they're remixes of past challenges you've encountered in this game!"

"Past challenges?" gasped Mallow. "Oh boy, I don't wanna relive a lot of those."

"Neither do I," said Toadiko, shuddering.

"I do," said Wolley, snickering.

"Well you'll have to relive something," said Anderson bluntly. "Now each challenge will be worth 2,000 coins, though there will be a few exceptions, bringing your potential winnings up to 20,000 coins."

"Not bad," said Timpani. "Certainly better than last challenge."

"And harder to fail," added Mona.

"Indeed," replied Anderson. "That is assuming you all can be trusted alone." Despite the desert heat, the players shivered at his words. "Now everyone, explore the carnival and find your challenges, you'll be completing them simultaneously! Well, except for you, Wolley, you'll be staying here with me for the time being."

_Wolley:__ That more or less confirms the evil challenge._

* * *

**Mona Martin – Player who likes motor vehicles**

Mona wandered through the tents, kicking up brown dust with her combat boots. She came to a splintery wooden sign in the very middle of the carnival. It was a crude map showing four rows of four tents each (with the exception of the top row which only had two). Different tents were painted in the six colors of the rainbow (combining indigo and violet into boring ol' purple) and a key to the left showed which player had which color.

"Let's seeee," muttered Mona. "Motor vehicles is… red!" She located the red tents on the map (the two in the top row) and dashed over to them. Each tent was about the size of a living room and was made of red and white stripped canvas. The tent on the left had a _1_ spray painted on while the one on the right had a _3_.

Entering tent one, Mona found it was empty except for a strange man. Though he was clearly a human (or a being of similar height), he wore a shy guy's mask over his face. Atop his head he wore a black tophat and the rest of his outfit consisted of a red vest and red pants. "Weeelcome," he said. His voice had a relaxing hiss to it and a twinge of foreign accent; Mona figured it was just the normal Yell-Yell English.

"Er, hello," she said nervously, intimidated by the strange man. "So you have a challenge for me?"

"I dooo," said the man. "Thisss misssion iss 'Super Mole Bros. Remix'," he said with a flourish.

"The one where I helped rescue Peach?" asked Mona.

"The very sssame," replied the man, whom Mona had dubbed 'Shy Man'. "Though thiss iss a remix, so it will be a bit different. We once again have your princessss. If you choose to accept this mission, she will be tied up in a cage somewhere among these bluffsss. You will be given one hour and a motorcccyle to resscue her."

Mona pondered the mission for a second before replying, "Can I go check out the other mission and then get back to you about it?"

"Of courssse."

She stepped out of the tent and shivered a bit, now deciding Shy Man creeped her out. She quickly stepped into tent number three, only to be met with Shy Man again.

"Holy-!"

"Hellooo," said Shy Man. "I shall tell you about your other option." Mona just nodded as she calmed down. "Thissss iss 'Hairy Situation Remix'. All you have to do is complete a race courssse on a motorcccycle while evading a few fuzzies. If the fuzzies catch you, it'sss game over."

"Hm, fuzzies probably wouldn't be so scary in the light. Plus if it's only a few and in such a wide open area, yeah I think I'll do this one!" reasoned Mona, looking confident by the time she finished speaking.

"Very good," said Shy Man, giving away nothing in his tone. "Follow meee."

* * *

**Shy Guy Maskio – Player who's a good shot**

Shy Guy entered a blue tent with a _3_ painted on it. Feeling bold, he greeted the tent's occupant with "Hey Kingy."

"What?" roared Bowser. "You dare speak to your great king like that?" he shouted, stomping his foot.

"Evidently," said Shy Guy, shrugging.

Bowser paused for a moment. "I like your snark, kid. How about you join the Koopa Troop? My army's got some great opportunities for being witty towards inferiors!"

"As much as dad would love it, I have to decline," said Shy Guy blandly.

"Right, you're General Guy's kid aren't ya?" asked Bowser. Shy Guy just nodded. "So I guess I can't burninate you for saying no," he grumbled.

"Aren't you here to give me a challenge?" deadpanned Shy Guy.

"I was getting to that!" snapped Bowser. He paused to collect himself. "Bwahaha, you've picked the best tent of the accurate bunch! This challenge is 'Castle Crashers Remix' starring yours truly and the army you will one day join or be conquered by!"

"Actually that does sound like the best of the bunch," said Shy Guy grinning. "I think that was my favorite mission so far."

"Atta boy, embrace the violence!" said Bowser. "For this remix, you'll be up on a bluff with one o' 'dem guns you were shooting us with-."

"A super scope," hinted Shy Guy.

"Yeah, that," said Bowser. "You'll have a super scope and for one hour you gotta fight off me and my army. If any of us gets up and knocks over the flask you're defending, you face defeat to the mighty Koopa Troop! Grahahahahaha!"

"Sounds sweet," commented Shy Guy. "I should probably check out the other tents first though."

"Hold it!" shouted Bowser, pointing a clawed finger. "I'm supposed to be the guy in those tents too, I'll just tell you how lame they are right now!"

"That certainly saves us some time," said Shy Guy.

"One of them just involves shooting ropes to knock bags down when they move over pipes, lame!" explained Bowser.

"Yeah, not as good as Castle Crashers," agreed Shy Guy.

"And the other one is based on the challenge your guests or whatever did. You didn't even do that one, why would you care?" said Bowser smugly.

"Actually that sounds pretty interesting," said Shy Guy.

"No, shut up, you're doing the challenge with me in it!"

* * *

**Mallow Nimbus – Player who likes games**

Mallow stepped into a yellow tent with a _4_ painted on it. Inside there was a woman whose head was obscured by a cloud of smoke that took up the top three feet of the tent. She was wearing a sweaty, white tank top ("Gross," muttered Mallow) and a pair of ripped jeans. She held a cigar in her hand (though oddly enough it was unlit).

"'Ey," grunted the woman as he entered. Mallow wasn't sure how she noticed him come in.

"Um, hello," he said nervously. "You have a challenge for me, right?"

"'Course," said the woman. Mallow decided to call her Smoke Woman from then on. "You familiar wid a challenge called 'Volcanic Breakout'?" she asked.

"Er, yes ma'am," replied Mallow.

"Well dis is da remix of it," said Smoke Woman as she stuck the cigar into the smoke cloud as if she was going to smoke it. "Whats ya gotta do is go through each a' da challenges da playas had to go through to get outta their rooms. Well, it's dat but each challenge is miniature. It's like some-a dose microgames, or whateva, dat's so popula."

"Hm, that does sound pretty fun," commented Mallow. "Do you mind if I check out the other challenge first?"

"Go for it kiddo."

Mallow ducked out of the tent and leisurely walked over to the other, vaguely seeing a figure dart from one to the other.

"'Ey."

"Wha- how- How did you get a smoke cloud in here already?" Mallow finally blurted.

"Ta be honest, it's a smoke machine," answered Smoke Woman.

"And that explains why you aren't actually smoking," said Mallow, grinning sheepishly.

"Indeed. So dis challenge is 'The Master's Challenges Remix'. Ya gotta do all of da challenges ya did ta rescue Andason back in Mushroom City. Once again dey're miniature. What's ya pick?"

"This one sounds best," said Mallow. "Sign me up!"

"Sounds good. Now I'd lead ya to your challenge, but I gots to inhale this sweet, sweet smoke so I'll allow Mista Gloombadrick to take ya ova dere."

The familiar gloomba with a pointed red hat descended from the smoke. "Hey," he muttered.

"Um hi," Mallow said awkwardly. "I had no idea you were there," he admitted.

"I wasn't entirely sure where I was either," said Gloombadrick. "Let's head out."

* * *

**Mona Martin – Hairy Situation Remix**

"Sssso you will be driving this bike for approximately ten miless thiss way," said Shy Man, pointing ahead of him. Mona sat on a shiny green motorcycle, ready to go. "Like I said," continued Shy Man, "If you get caught by a fuzzy, you lossse. Good luuuuck."

"Thanks Shy Man," said Mona distractedly.

"Huh? Oh never mind. Three. Two. One. Gooooo!" shouted Shy Man and Mona immediately accelerated off the starting line.

"Yahoo!" cheered Mona. The wind was whipping through her hair as she zoomed between the brown rock spires in her way, sending dust flying behind her. She had driven for about a minute when she began to get suspicious.

_Mona:__ There was no way I was simply outpacing the fuzzies. No, that would be way too simple for this game._

As Mona continued to drive, she noticed several pillars begin to rumble and much to her horror, cracks began to form. She sped up, hoping to avoid whatever was happening, though she still kept an eye out behind her in one of the mirrors. The pillars she had witnessed before were now covered in cracks and rumbling violently. Eventually one of the cracks got wide enough for something black to start oozing out.

"MEEEEEOOOOOORK!"

Three pillars suddenly exploded, fuzzies shooting everywhere. There were countless fuzzies, the amount was so large that it made the players' encounter with them in Petal Meadows seem tame.

Mona unleashed a bloodcurdling scream as she saw the grand horde rush towards her. It came like a flood, reaching all the way up the canyon and spreading out in various paths to get towards Mona. She saw the fuzzies approaching from all sides except for directly ahead so she immediately cranked up the speed.

"FASTER AND FASTER THE LITTLE GIRL SPED, HOPING SHE WOULD NOT END UP DEAD!" chanted the grand horde as they continued to flow towards her.

"Nopenopenopenope," screamed Mona. She drove up a small incline which launched her high into the air and landed in a straight valley between several hills. Given the straight shot, Mona went up to breakneck speed. This seemed to be the advantage she needed, for she was now getting a consistent lead over the ferocious flood.

Mona tried to put the fuzzies out of her mind and just think about going as fast as possible. The valley eventually ended and a pillar was straight ahead, but Mona managed to expertly drift around it and use the speed boost to keep ahead. She kept doing this and eventually got into a rhythm. Drift, boost, drift, boost, drift, boost, etc. At nine miles it seemed like Mona would make it after all, but the fuzzies had a different plan.

"No," gapsed Mona as she saw a pillar in front of her begin to shake. Another soon followed that one, then several more. With half a mile to go, five more pillars broke, making the grand horde over twice its original size.

"Meorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeorkmeork!" was the deafening giggle coming from behind her. Mona gritted her teeth and sped up, but this time she was unable to control her panic. She messed up a drift and hit her back wheel on a rock, sending her flying off the bike. Before she could even react, her bike was swallowed up by the horde. Mona looked back, pure fear shining in her eyes as the flood loomed over her before consuming her whole.

* * *

**Mallow Nimbus – The Master's Challenges Remix**

"Challenge number one," announced Gloombadrick, untying Mallow's blindfold. "It is worth 500 coins."

"500?" questioned Mallow. "That's puny!"

"Yeah, it kinda is. But remember, each player's challenge is worth 2,000 and this is only a small fraction of yours," explained Gloombadrick.

"That's fair," said Mallow. He got a good look at his challenge. It was a 100 foot wide square of six foot tall models of skyscrapers. Each skyscraper was four feet wide and was bordered on all sides by a four foot wide road. It was like a miniature city with perfectly square blocks.

Gloombadrick handed Mallow a small sphere. "That's your bomb, hit it too hard and it explodes. Now place it in your back pocket."

"What?" shouted Mallow. "You want me to put explosives in my pants?" He stomped his feet, outraged. "This is ridiculous!"

Gloombadrick chuckled. "You really think we'd do that? No no, that's not a real bomb. When you bump it, it will vibrate violently, letting you know you failed and it will shut down our vehicles."

"Vehicles?' asked Mallow as two bomb cars drove up. "Oh no," he gasped, turning completely pale.

"They _will_ explode if you run into them, nothing lethal, but it'll sting," informed Gloombadrick. "Oh and you'll fail, so watch out! Not to mention they'll be going after you." Once he finished, the two cars drove to the other side of the mini city and began to rev their engines. "If it wasn't clear already, all you need to do is get to the other side. Ready?" Mallow nodded. "Go!"

Mallow immediately dashed into the city, hoping to take a straight path through before the bomb cars got to him. He made it about half way through before he saw one of the bomb cars pull into his street. "Yipes!" cried Mallow, taking a sharp right turn then a left to the next street over. He actually managed to pass the first bomb car before it got onto his street and began following him, but he was soon met with another one in front of him. He stopped right in his tracks and started to turn when the first one collided with him, exploding and sending him flying right into the second one, which sent him flying back. When he finally landed on his backside, the "bomb" began to vibrate. "I know, I lost," he groaned.

"Ouch, tough break," said Gloombadrick with a twinge of guilt. "Obviously you don't earn the 500 coins." Mallow just sighed, rubbing his singed back. "Challenge two is one of those exceptions though," he said, causing Mallow to perk up. "This challenge is based on the one _you_ completed way back in Mushroom City, do you remember it?"

"Of course, it was a gambling challenge!" replied Mallow, recalling his victory fondly.

"Well this one will be a gamble too, but not at a casino. You'll be betting on the results of one of your fellow players. Wolley, the brave player, will have the toughest challenge out of all of you. While I can't specify what exactly it is, I can say that it will take a great amount of courage and athletic skill. So Mallow, I want you to write down whether or not you think he will succeed or fail." He handed Mallow a slip of paper and a pen. "A simple yes or no will do, be hasty."

Mallow quickly scribbled down an answer. "This is Wolley we're talking about; I know I'll be right."

"Well, if you're right, 3,000 coins will be added to the team pot. If not, you fail this portion of your challenge and no money will be added, comprende?"

"Got it!" said Mallow, giving a thumbs up.

"Alright then, blindfold on. Challenge three will begin momentarily," announced Gloombadrick.

* * *

"Challenge number three!" said Gloombadrick as he ripped off Mallow's blindfold. Before the nimbian was a 25 piece puzzle (though with 28 pieces present). "For this challenge you must do the opposite of what Timpani and Shy Guy did for their challenge. You must solve this puzzle (which has extra pieces) to reveal a maze which you must then draw the correct path on to win 500 coins." He handed Mallow a marker and stepped back.

"You have 15 minutes," said Gloombadrick. "Ready, set, go!"

Mallow was mildly good at puzzles, though the extra pieces did prove to be a hindrance, so he took about 10 minutes to solve the puzzle. "Now onto the maze!" he cheered. His strategy was to start at the exit and get to the beginning, it wasn't necessarily any easier, but he liked to think it was. He solved the maze in three minutes and took one more to actually draw the path with the thick marker. "Done!" he announced.

Gloombadrick walked over to inspect his work. "Correct!" he announced. "That's 500 coins for you!"

* * *

"Do you really need to keep blindfolding me?" Mallow asked as Gloombadrick once again removed the cloth from Mallow's eyes.

"If you saw us setting the mission up, you may get spoiled on how to solve it!" insisted the host's assistant. "Now then, onto number four! For the original, Toadiko and Wolley were attempting to outcook a master chef, this time, Anderson was!" Mallow began to laugh at the idea of Anderson cooking. "Ah, Anderson predicted someone would laugh at this," muttered Gloombadrick. "He told me to say that he looked 'friggen great' in a chef's hat."

"That's," gasped Mallow between laughter. "That's hilarious!"

"Totally," said Gloombadrick, appearing sobered though on the inside he too thought it was hilarious. "So I have for you two dishes: one by famous chef, Dyliss, and one by your very own host. Identify whose is whose and you win 500 coins."

"Sounds easy enough," commented Mallow. Before him were two slices of pie. One was cherry and the other was blueberry. "Oh, these aren't that different," he said nervously.

"Try them," encouraged Gloombadrick.

"Well I'm a weatherman, not a culinary expert, but I'll give it a go!" Mallow took a bite of blueberry pie and smiled brightly (with his mouth closed of course).

_Mallow:__ That blueberry pie may have been the best pie I've ever had!_

After having swallowed his delicious treat, he went for a bite of the cherry pie. And this is where he hit a problem.

_Mallow:__ But the cherry pie was also pretty dang good…_

"I can guess what you're thinking," commented Gloombadrick. "Well in case you weren't aware, Anderson Blooper got his TV debut… as a winning contestant on a cooking show."

"This is unfair!" blurted Mallow once he had finished his bite.

"But remember, Anderson is good, but Dyliss is a master. You'll have to use any indicator you can get to see whose is whose," said Gloombadrick.

"Oh man, I guess I have to eat the rest of both slices," Mallow said with mock disappointment.

After downing both slices, Mallow thought he was ready for a decision. "While both are amazing and the highlight of my day, the blueberry pie lacked imperfections. It wasn't uniform, but it was consistent in its goodness, so I'm gonna have to say it's Dyliss's pie and the cherry is Anderson's.

"You realize your analysis didn't actually mean that much, right?" asked Gloombadrick.

Mallow sighed. "Don't mention it. I'm sticking with my answers. That's the best analysis a weatherman can give of food!"

"Not even a weather pun?" asked Gloombadrick.

Mallow groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's delicious with a 80% chance of being Dyliss's!" he said blandly.

"Not only are your puns great, but so is your food analysis, that's 500 more coins earned!" announced Gloombadrick.

"Yahoo!" cheered Mallow. "But really, I gotta tell Anderson what an amazing cook he is!"

* * *

"And your final challenge, numbah fiiive!" announced Gloombadrick.

"I swear, sometimes you're super chill and sometimes you're more excited than Anderson," commented Mallow.

"I'm still deciding on how I'd like my TV personality to be," admitted Gloombadrick. "But enough of the fourth wall, here take this money." He handed Mallow a silver coin, purple coin, frog coin, big coin, blue coin, red coin, and gold coin, all of the basic types of coins. "Okay, how many coins is that worth, tell me in five seconds for 500 coins!"

"Huh, ah, um, uh, ah!" fumbled Mallow, quickly calculating the amount.

"And your guess, right now!" snapped Gloombadrick.

"193!" blurted the nimbian, nearly dropping the coins in his frenzy.

"Correct!" announced Gloombadrick. "Congratulations Mallow, you've earned 1,500 coins from your challenges and we'll see about the remaining 3,000 once Wolley attempts his."

* * *

**Shy Guy Maskio – Castle Crashers Remix**

"Let's go troop, we can win this again!" shouted Bowser, riding in on his clown car. He hovered over to Shy Guy who was standing atop a platform that was 30 feet in diameter. The actor was armed with a super scope and stood defensively in front of a pedestal containing a green flask. He looked down the hill the platform was positioned atop. It was easy to defend. He had this.

"I'm ready, your burliness," droned Shy Guy, aiming the weapon at the king's snout.

"Now that's the right way to address a macho king like me!" cackled Bowser. "But lower the gun, Maskio." Shy Guy complied. "I'll fly down there and blow a horn. That's my mighty signal that war has begun! After that you have a futile hour to stop us. Like last time, my minions take one to three hits and I, being the glorious badass that I am, take 100, got it?"

Shy Guy began to charge up a power shot. "You got it, punk."

"Punk?" roared Bowser. "Oh you're going to get it! I'm gonna make you lose so bad, General Guy will be ashamed to call you his son! Bwaaaaa!" Bowser flew down to his army, which was amassed in a crater half a mile away. He pulled out a massive horn and blew into it, the war had begun.

Shy Guy immediately shot his charged shot at the biggest target among them: Bowser. A direct hit. Shy Guy chuckled, imaging the shocked and enraged look on the king's face. Oh yeah he was mad. In fact he was running. He was running rather quickly. How was such a heavy beast running that quickly? While Bowser's speed was quite concerning, Shy Guy managed to keep barraging his foe with charged shots, each worth multiple shots.

It took Bowser five minutes to reach the hill and his army soon followed. "You'll pay for disrespecting me!" he roared, spewing fire into the air.

_Shy Guy:__ I didn't realize Bowser would be using fire. In fact I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to. I was getting a little scared, but I had one last tactic to get under his skin: acting._

Shy Guy stood tall and roared as he unleashed rapid fire on Bowser. "You think you can challenge _me_? You may not have figured this out yet, but _I_ am the King of Awesome, baby and no lunk is gonna change that!" His impressions were as uncannily accurate as his shots.

Bowser was blinded by irritation. "You little weasel! _I'm _the King of Awesome, _I_ am!" He was so blinded that he didn't notice super scope charging as he approached Shy Guy. The shot hit Bowser right in the snout and sent him flying off his feet. He crushed countless members of his army as he tumbled down the hill.

Shy Guy grinned. "I just shot the King of Awesome in the face."

* * *

**Timpani Bleck – Player with good long term memory**

Timpani entered the lone green tent. It had _1_, _2_, _3_, and _4_ painted on it. She walked in and gasped. "You!" she said, pointing a finger at the receptionist from Quet Wovon.

The receptionist smiled pleasantly from behind her red turban. "Yes, however you may call me Dryette for the time being," she said.

"Why are you here?" asked Timpani accusingly.

"The producers needed an English-speaker to direct you guys at Quet Wovon," explained Dryette. "I was a mere boom operator, but they allowed me to do the job. Now they need people to administer your remixes and they determined that a familiar face would work the best."

"Okay," said Timpani, deciding to trust the story. "Well what mission do you have for me? I was told we'd have a choice, yet I only have one tent."

"You will be given a choice," said Dryette. "But only for part of your challenge. You cannot change the premise."

"That's… fair I suppose," mused Timpani, shrugging.

"Good. Your challenge is called 'Remixed Execution'," said Dryette. Timpani gasped at the name. "You will take two quizzes from past episodes, one from the first quarter of the game and one from the second quarter of the game. As basing the results on the identity of the Mole would give you an advantage over the other players, you will instead be answering questions about the player executed in that episode."

"Wow, this was certainly unexpected," said Timpani.

"Well if your long term memory is as good as they say, it will be easy," reassured Dryette, once again smiling behind her red turban. "Now then, what two episodes will you be choosing?"

Timpani thought about it for a moment. "Episodes one and four," I think I remember those the best.

Dryette raised her eyebrows. "Interesting choice. Now you will be taking episode four's first, then episode one's. For each quiz you score a nine or ten on, you earn 1,000 coins. Ready?"

"You bet," said Timpani confidently. Dryette handed her a laptop and pointed her to a seat. "Wish me luck!"

**Remix Quiz #4**

**#1 - On the plane to Toad Town, did the Victim sit alone?**

**-The Victim sat alone**

**-The Victim sat with someone**

_Timpani:__ This question stumped me the first time and it stumps me now!_

**#2 – What kind of question did the Victim answer in the **_**Molesque**_** quiz?**

**-The Victim answered a question about an executed player**

**-The Victim answered a question about coins**

**-The Victim answered a question about the film's actors**

**#3 – What place did the Victim come in in the Volcano Surfing challenge?**

**-1****st**

**-2****nd**

**-3****rd**

**-4****th**

**-5****th**

**-6****th**

**-7****th**

**#4 – Is the Victim's guest a blood relative?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#5 – What role did the Victim's guest have in the Gameshow Teaser challenge?**

**-The Victim's guest used a hammer**

**-The Victim's guest used a FLUDD**

**-The Victim's guest used a cape feather**

**#6 – What position on the mountain did the Victim take in Volcanic Breakout (starting at the top)?**

**-1****st**

**-2****nd**

**-3****rd**

**-4****th**

**-5****th**

**-6****th**

**-7****th**

**#7 – Did the Victim receive a card from Anderson (exemptions or -1s)?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#8 – What color was the Victim's key in Volcanic Breakout?**

**-Red**

**-Orange**

**-Yellow**

**-Green**

**-Blue**

**-Indigo**

**-Violet**

**#9 – Was the Victim's guest human?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#10 – Who was the Victim?**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

"Done!" announced Timpani, handing over the laptop.

"Are you confident in your answers?" asked Dryette, plugging the laptop into a monitor.

"If I couldn't answer these questions, I'd have no hope of winning this season," was Timpani's reply.

"Okay, I will now be entering your name into this computer. If a green thumbprint comes up, you earn 1,000 coins for the team pot. If a red thumbprint comes up, you earn nothing," said Dryette, a hint of excitement in her voice. "Timpani Bleck."

T

I

M

P

A

N

I

.

.

.

Green

"Success!" Timpani cheered quietly, sighing with relief.

"Congratulations Timpani, you've earned 1,000 coins for the team pot. Are you ready for your next quiz?" asked Dryette, unplugging the laptop.

"I sure hope so."

**Remix Quiz #1**

**#1 – What is the Victim's job?**

**-Plumber/Adventurer**

**-Royal Assistant**

**-Pro Tennis Player**

**-Game Designer/Cook**

**-Psychologist**

**-Weatherman**

**-Actor**

**-Scholar**

**-Boxing Ref and Manager**

**-Miner**

**#2 – Which limo did the Victim show up in?**

**-1****st**

**-2****nd**

**-3****rd**

**-4****th**

**#3 – Did the Victim successfully retrieve a bag in the Bag Shooters Mission**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**-The Victim was shooting the bags**

**#4 – What team was the Victim on in the Super Mole Bros. mission?**

**-The Air Team**

**-The Sea Team**

**-The Cramped Team**

**-The Victim Traveled Alone**

**#5 – Did the Victim opt for a rematch in the Tops and Trapdoors mini-mission?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#6 – How far did the Victim make it in the Tops and Trapdoors mini-mission?**

**-1****st**** Floor**

**-2****nd**** Floor Round 1**

**-2****nd**** Floor Round 2**

**-3****rd**** Floor**

**#7 – Is the Victim male of female?**

**-Male**

**-Female**

**#8 – What species is the Victim?**

**-Human**

**-Toad**

**-Nimbian**

**-Shy Guy**

**-Monty Mole**

**#9 – What Month was the Victim born in?**

**-Jan**

**-Mar**

**-Apr**

**-May **

**-Jun**

**-Jul**

**-Aug**

**-Sep**

**-Dec**

**#10 – Who was the Victim?**

**-Mario Mario**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

**-Daisy Sarasa**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

**-Jolene Mush**

**-Monty Mole**

"Once again, I will enter your name into the computer. If a red thumbprint comes up, you have failed the quiz. If a green thumbprint comes up, you win 1,000 coins for the pot," explained Dryette after Timpani handed the laptop over. "Timpani Bleck."

T

I

M

P

A

N

I

.

.

.

Green

"Congratulations!" cheered Dryette.

Timpani jumped up victoriously. "Yes! I knew I could remember all this stuff!" She turned to Dryette and smiled. "Thank you for administering the test!"

* * *

**Toadiko Shroomose – Player with keen eyes**

Toadiko entered one of the two orange tents. "Monty?" she gasped. "Monty Mole?

"Er, I'm _a_ Monty Mole, ma'am," responded a monty mole wearing gold-tinted sun-glasses.

"Oh," sighed Toadiko. "Sorry for the confusion."

"Naw, don't worry about it!" insisted the monty mole. "Y'all here for a challenge?" he asked.

"Oh, well yes," responded Toadiko, looking at her feet. "I'd like to see what challenge this is."

"Well here you'll be watching a short film and answering a few questions about it, hopefully your eyes are keen enough for it!" answered the shady mole.

That idea sounded familiar to Toadiko and it made her look up and grin. "What film?" she quickly asked.

The shady mole paused for a moment, attempting to recall the name. Finally he lit up and quickly gave an answer. "Molesque 2: Master of Malevolence."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Aw yeah, the crappiest of crappy films will be getting a sequel! In addition to that we have the conclusion to Shy Guy's war and Wolley's mysterious bravery challenge. Yeah, this challenge has a whole lot left. Imagine if this episode was only 4 parts though, we'd be almost done, but no, there's still a whole lot left. Actually, this challenge probably wouldn't have happened if this episode was only 4 parts. There's actually one more challenge after this and I originally had far lower expectations for this one and wasn't going to include it if I didn't have room. This is still pushing it, this chapter is the new longest if I'm not mistaken. But I'm really glad I included this challenge, I really like how it's coming together and I hope you guys do too!**

**On another note, I'm becoming slightly hopeful for a return of a U.S. mole. Now ABC hasn't actually commented on it, but there's two factors that make me feel hopeful. First, and most importantly, Australia actually saw the Mole Return after 5 years for a 6th season, so regardless of getting it in the U.S., we have a new English season and if it got good enough ratings then we may get more! Another sign is ABC's Whodunnit which also came on in 2013. Essentially it's a shallow version of the Mole, but it keeps the concept of one player working against the others, which shows that ABC is interested in that sort of concept. Now, Whodunnit did get poor ratings, but I'm hoping that if the Australian Mole got good ratings then that might motivate ABC to give it another chance! Okay now that's all conjecture, but a man can hope right? The one thing that would sadden me about this is that if it were to come back soon, it would probably get cancelled well before I'd be old enough to try to get on and considering I'm 16 as of this chapter being published, that's a while.**

**Jeez, speculation took up more of that author's note than actual information about the story, whoops! Anywho, please leave a review, I'd appreciate it! **

**~Vivalahomestar**


	20. Wild Wild South

**Author's Notes: When heroic music is mentioned, play "Heroic Jump" from the Mole OST. Molesque 2 takes a lot of inspiration from the "Dangeresque" films from Homestar Runner , so credit to them. Also, you don't know it yet, but Ludwig is part Nic Cage.**

_Episode 5 Part 4_

**Toadiko Shroomose – Molesque 2: Master of Malevolence**

"Mole: a small mammal known for its habit of digging tunnels." The words appeared onscreen accompanied by Anderson's voice, just like its prequel. "_Or_, a particularly malevolent type of double agent whose habits include, but are not limited to: trickery, sabotage, theft, destruction, and the creation of drama."

The scene opens on a messy office. Papers are strewn everywhere, the walls are covered with papers that have lines drawn between them, and the shades are drawn shut. The set was actually pretty convincing until Toadiko noticed the folder with a red thumbprint on the cover. It was simply filmed in one of the producer's offices.

A blue-haired koopa wearing gold-tinted sun-glasses walked in. "Enter detective Marty O'Brian," narrated Anderson's voice. "He's the head detective in the Kingdom of Sarahland and he's about to meet his new partner." A purple man with fangs and elf ears (whose name Toadiko would later find out was Tatanga) walked in wearing a wrinkly, torn, ill-fitting suit and quite possibly the exact same moustache Bowser had worn in the first movie.

"Hello sir," the purple man said blandly. "My name is," he paused for a moment, rubbing his temples as he tried to remember the script. "Harry," he finally said.

"Hello!" said Marty overdramatically. He shook Harry's hand with an abundance of vigor. His wild hair aiding in the effect that he may have been crazy. Toadiko wasn't sure if it was the character or actor who was crazy.

"Ring ring! Ring ring!" came the sound of a phone. Well, someone behind the camera impersonating a phone.

Harry fumbled with the phone. "Spacemen say they're going to kidnap the princess?" he said immediately. "Oh nooo." He sounded quite sarcastic.

_Toadiko:__ They didn't really even write a new plot! They just replaced Bowser with a purple man! The spaceman is clearly a mole for the spacemen!_

"Gasp!" shouted Marty, holding his hands to his face. "This is an oooooutraaaage!" He shook his fist in the air for good measure. "We must take," he began, suddenly turning to Harry, his eyes bugging out. "Immediate action!"

The scene faded out to static and Toadiko began to focus. "Alright, what do you have to say?" she mumbled under her breath. Toadiko was completely unprepared for what was about to flash onscreen and when it came up she screamed in horror. Though it only appeared for a moment, Toadiko clearly saw an image of Jolene standing atop the scaffolding from episode one's Tops and Trapdoors challenge with a noose around her neck. "What the hell?" shouted Toadiko. She looked around for the monty mole to complain, but he was nowhere to be found.

The disturbing image, along with the static suddenly vanished, revealing the next scene, set inside Quet Wovon. Evidently they were trying to pass of the little desert inn as a lush castle. Styrofoam columns had been placed at the sides of the set and colored pieces of tissue paper had been placed over the windows to make them resemble stained glass.

Princess Peach sat upon a wooden chair (a throne maybe?) wearing a faded orange dress and a brown wig that failed to cover all of her own hair. The hilarity of the situation had fortunately distracted Toadiko from the image she had just seen.

_Toadiko:__ You'd think they'd use Daisy for an obvious impersonation of Daisy, but you know what, I'm perfectly fine with this!_

"What?" gapsed Peach lamely.

"Princess Rose, we are serious," blandly insisted Harry, standing perfectly still.

Peach, or Rose, turned towards Detective Marty. "Do you trust him?" she asked.

"Of course!" shouted Marty. "I maaay not have known this man for long, but I can already tell you he's a good man!" As he spoke, his limbs flailed around in a pattern that vaguely resembled emphasizing gestures.

"I suppose- er guess- no, it's suppose that you should get going and investigate," ordered Rose, pointing towards the camera after a few seconds.

The static returned after that and as soon as it did, Toadiko nervously gripped her seat. A red thumbprint flashed twice on the screen before the next unnerving image appeared. Monty's limbs were chained to the wall and The Master was taking a ferocious swing at his head with brass knuckles. The image quickly vanished and was followed by one more flash of a red thumbprint.

As the static began to clear, cheesy action music began to play. The two detectives ran into a sketchy parking lot, both wielding toy super scopes. "I hear there may be some of those baddies around here!" overacted Marty. "Scout the place, move!"

The duo split up, running around and knocking over piles of cardboard boxes and trash cans. Harry eventually came upon a blooper wearing a black tanktop and a green bandana. "Freeze," deadpanned the mustachioed detective.

"Ah crap, it's the coppers!" shouted the blooper fairly convincingly.

_Toadiko:__ Was that a gangster Anderson?_

"Stop or I'll blast ya, or shoot ya, or whatever I'm supposed to threaten you with," snapped Harry.

"Fine, you got me," sighed Anderson. "Whaddya want?"

"What do you know about the spacemen?" asked Harry apathetically.

"I hear they're going to attack the castle in a week," answered Anderson.

_Toadiko:__ That's it? No struggle for the information? Fine then, just reveal Harry's a traitor and get it over with!_

The static returned a third time. Three thumbprints flashed on screen before another image appeared. Daisy was bound to a wooden stake in Hooktail's Castle. Looming over her stood the dragon herself, talons ready to deal the executing blow.

The scene still took place in the parking lot, though the cameras had failed to hide the "MBC" sign in the corner. "You heard what?" screamed Marty. "This is quite distressing! We'll have to come up with a plan and I'll require my most trusted men!"

"Am I trustworthy enough to be put on the job sir?" asked Harry.

"I think you are the _only_ man I may trust!" said Marty, looking around with exaggerated suspicion. "Do not tell this to _aaaanyone_!"

Static quickly took over the screen. Toadiko was finding the frequency irritating. One thumbprint appeared before the next execution image appeared. The Mario bros were tied together and being lowered closer and closer to a lake of lava. Luigi appeared to be screaming in terror while Mario had a solemn look on his face.

The next scene was in the poor imitation of Castle Sarasa. Marty and Harry stood guard next to Princess Rose, each carrying toy super scopes. "Bring bring! Bring bring!" came the phone imitation, but nothing happened. "Bring bring!" The "phone" was ringing louder this time.

Peach finally got the clue and picked up a cell phone. "Hello?" After half a second she shut the phone and attempted to look afraid. Considering the amount of danger she had faced, she should have been better at it. "The spacemen have found us."

"What!" gasped Marty. "How could they have found us?"

"There must be a um, there must be a mole among us," said Harry, trying to keep his fake moustache on.

Three toads with purple dye on their caps burst in screaming gibberish. Peach gave her best scream as the screen faded to static one last time. A final red thumbprint appeared, staying on screen for a full second. Lastly, a set of shackles sitting in the blazing desert appeared with the words "YOU'RE NEXT" drawn in the sand.

The static faded to reveal the final scene, which started as a closeup on Harry's face. Toadiko noticed the mustache looked a lot more convincing. Suddenly a super scope was raised to his temple. "Freeze," said a calm, sinister voice.

Toadiko gasped for two reasons as the camera zoomed out. The first was the set. They were no longer in Quet Wovon, but instead the real Castle Sarasa with its real princess sitting in the throne and displaying realistic fear. The costumes were all top quality and the spacemen were no longer toads, but instead (much to Toadiko's horror) actual aliens; Shroobs to be exact.

The other reason was who was holding the (now realistic) super scope to Harry's head. It was Marty, the so-called hero of the film. "I suppose I owe you an explanation," he said. His acting was no longer over the top, but instead it hit a terrifying mixture of calm and malevolent. "I like being a man of power and I was able to have that as the top of our incompetent princess's league of detectives." He spat angrily as he said "incompetent". "But our meager world is no longer in a place of power. So, I've allied myself with these greater beings," he said, motioning towards the Shroobs. "I would have led them to victory before anyone could catch on, but then _you_ had to find out. So here we are, Harry. Because you just _had_ to join that fool's detective force, you're now going to be executed along with her majesty."

"Y-you're the mole!" gasped Harry, his eyes shining with fear.

"I don't blame you for being too stupid to figure it out," spat Marty, pressing the scope closer. "Anyone can be a mole, your mistake was trusting someone." He suddenly began to charge up the gun. "Trust no one!" he roared, pulling the trigger. Harry collapsed and lay limp on the ground. "You are the mole's next victim."

* * *

**Shy Guy Maskio – Castle Crashers Remix**

Shy Guy was learning that angering Bowser was a terrible idea. He soon found himself surrounded on all sides by troops, each one fighting as if their lives depended on it. Bowser himself started slipping into his shell and sliding up the hill like that, making him far harder to hit. While Shy Guy was able to keep knocking out enemies, the bulk of the army was getting closer and closer to his platform.

"Give up!" roared Bowser. "Your puny efforts are hopeless!"

"Hopeless?" grunted Shy Guy. He quickly checked his watch before unleashing rapid fire on the army. "It's been 55 minutes!"

"Psh, we don't even need five minutes to finish this!" roared Bowser. He took a swing at Shy Guy, sending him flying. The actor tucked in his legs, barely allowing him to miss the flask. He landed on the back edge of the platform and immediately shot a charged shot at Bowser, knocking him off the platform. Shy Guy ran up to him and tried to knock him down farther. He didn't have much time to do this, however, because troops behind him were starting to climb onto the platform.

"Come on, I got this," huffed Shy Guy, running out of breath. He turned around and took out the enemies behind him, but when he turned back, Bowser was standing right in front of him.

"Game over!" taunted Bowser, holding down Shy Guy with one hand and using the other to lightly tap the flask, knocking it over. It seemed nobody could beat Bowser and his army at this game.

"That's 2,000 coins you've lost, punk!" snapped the King of Koopas. Shy Guy sighed dejectedly. "But hey, I'm leaving a position open in my army for you. I would love to see Mario deal with that aim and that mockery!"

"Thanks kingy," mumbled the exhausted actor.

* * *

**Toadiko Shroomose – Molesque 2: Master of Malevolence**

The mole in shades waltzed into the tent as soon as the movie ended. "What did you think?"

"Well it was hilariously bad until that last scene," said Toadiko. "Like, what happened there, why were they suddenly being so serious?"

"The message was serious," answered the shady mole. "Trust no one."

"Well only if that's how you want to play the game," replied Toadiko.

"Whatevs, quiz time!" the shady mole suddenly announced. "Question one: who played Marty O'Brian?"

"Um, I believe it was Ludwig von Koopa," answered Toadiko hopefully.

"Correct!" announced the shady mole, snapping as he said it. "That's 250 coins for the team pot!"

"Only 250?" asked Toadiko, disappointed.

_Toadiko:__ Compared to other challenges, these questions felt worthless!_

"You've got eight questions, ma'am. It's gotta add up to 2,000," explained the mole. "Number two: how many red thumbprints appeared during the film?"

"Eight," replied Toadiko with full confidence.

"Incorrect!"

"What?" snapped Toadiko. "I counted them! Eight thumbprints flashed on screen!"

"Yes, eight _flashed_, but there was a ninth on a notebook in the first scene!" explained the shady mole. "Anyways, question three: what was the name of Tatanga's character?"

"Tatanga? Um, I'm guessing that's the purple guy, so Harry!"

"Correct! Question four: how was Mario executed?" asked the shady mole.

Toadiko shuddered a bit. "He and Luigi were dropped into Thwomp Volcano," she answered.

"Indeed," said the quiz-giver sadly. "How was Jolene executed?"

"Hanged from the Traps and Trapdoors scaffolding."

"True. And Monty?"

"Punched too hard by the Master."

"Daisy?"

Toadiko sighed deeply. "Attacked by the dragon, Hooktail."

"That is correct. Last question, how will the next victim be executed?" asked the shady mole.

"They will be restrained out in the desert, presumably to die of dehydration," answered Toadiko fearfully.

"That's… correct," he finally answered. "You got seven out of eight questions correct, earning a total of 1,750 coins for the team pot. Now then, I must leave. Goodbye Toadiko." His last goodbye was given with a strange hint of sadness, but Toadiko decided to ignore it as she left her challenge.

* * *

**Wolley Ohtoad – Brave player**

After each player had completed their challenge and Wolley had been given the signal, he made his way through the empty Remix Carnival, heading for the lone purple ten with a _4_ spray painted on it. Clapping erupted as he entered the tent, though it wasn't until his eyes adjusted that he saw it was the other players.

"Welcome, o brave one," said Anderson, sitting directly across from him. "Before you begin the last, most important remix, let us go over the results of each challenge." He flipped through a few papers for a second before pointing to Mona. "Mona Martin, you attempted 'Hairy Situation Remix'. How did you fare?"

Mona's hair was frazzled and her clothes were torn up. "Meeeork," she whispered fearfully.

"I'll take that as a failure," replied Anderson. "No coins earned by her." He looked down at the papers once again. "Toadiko Shroomose, you watched Molesque 2: Master of Malevolence."

Wolley grinned. "A sequel? You lucky girl!"

Toadiko laughed. "It pretty much is what you would expect it to be. Well… with a few exceptions," she trailed off for a moment. "As for winnings, I answered seven out of eight questions correctly and earned 1,750 coins!"

"Congrats," Anderson said calmly, flipping through his papers. "Mallow Nimbus, you did 'The Master's Challenges Remix', correct?"

"Yeah!" replied Mallow. "I failed only one challenge so I earned 1,500 coins!"

"Indeed, that's another partial win for the pot! Now then… Timpani Bleck! You took two old quizzes, this time answering questions about the victims," said Anderson, looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah and I remembered everything flawlessly," bragged Timpani.

_Timpani:__ Might as well look like as much of a hero as possible!_

"And that's another 2,000 coins for the pot!" announced Anderson. "Shy Guy Maskio, you took on 'Castle Crashers Remix'."

"And I totally kicked Bowser's butt," said Shy Guy smugly.

"Actually, he kicked yours," corrected Anderson. "You failed, no money added to the pot."

_Toadiko:__ Why in the world would Shy Guy lie about the results?_

_Wolley:__ It seems someone was trying to trick us into thinking he was a hero! Sounds very moleish!_

"We have one more player to test before we compile the results, however!" announced Anderson. "Wolley Ohtoad, your challenge will be 'Volcano Surfing Remix'!"

"Sweet!" cheered Wolley. "But wait, don't I get a choice?"

"Your choice is do it or sacrifice money," Anderson said sternly.

"I'll totally do it!" replied the toad excitedly.

"Wonderful," said the host, grinning wickedly. "Now of course there aren't any volcanos here and anything else you'd surf _down_ would end up being a very short ride. So instead of riding down a volcano, you'll be riding _across_ this canyon!"

"That… sounds impossible actually," said Wolley.

"You'll have a little help. Staring from one of the highest bluffs in the area, you'll use both a snowboard and a hang-glider to make your way from the center of the bluffs to the edge, all without making it to the very bottom of the canyon. Make it and you earn 7,000 coins. Don't and you earn nothing. How's it sound?"

Wolley contemplated the idea. "I think I can do this. I sure hope I can."

* * *

**Wolley Ohtoad – Volcano Surfing Remix**

Heroic music begins to play as Wolley is brought up to his starting place. Crew members hoist him up to the top of a rock spire that reaches hundreds of feet above the rest of the canyon. At the top, he's strapped into his board and glider and raised onto a spring.

"Still feeling macho and foolish?" asked Anderson over radio.

Wolley's grin falters as he looks at the jagged canyon below him, spanning out for nearly a mile to his finish line. "A little less macho and a little more foolish," he answered.

"Well," began Anderson. "When you're ready to start, just jump and that spring will give you enough air to hopefully complete the challenge."

Wolley gulped and prepared himself. He bent his legs, breathed deeply, and jumped.

_Wolley:__ Surfing down a volcano was one thing, but this was entirely different._

He was launched about 50 feet into the air. With a little yelp, he firmly grabbed onto the handle of the glider and began to steer it. He tried tilting upwards, but that slowed him down too much, so he tried to keep it perfectly parallel with the ground. Well, what parts of the ground were flat. His board was creating a lot of drag, so he ended up gliding in a standing position, almost like he was snowboarding or surfing on air.

After about thirty seconds of gliding, Wolley was level with most of the other spires around him, which was a big problem. Evidently Anderson had chosen a path full of the spires because Wolley immediately had to start swerving out of the way. As he swerved, his board slid along the sides of the pillars. "Careful Wolley," he grunted. "Don't wanna catch your feet on anything." He had to take a sharp dive as he approached an archway. "You're trying to kill me, Anderson!" he shouted.

When he was about halfway through, Wolley was heading straight into a ravine. He banked to the left and landed gracefully on a flat layer of rock. The ground below him was surprisingly smooth, allowing him to keep his momentum. Finally he was doing some boarding. He spotted a bump in the ground ahead and used it as a ramp, letting him glide and gain more speed. Before he could land though, the land suddenly ended and he descended into the ravine, getting dangerously close to the bottom of the canyon.

Wolley's heart was racing and any other player likely would have crashed in their panic, but he was the brave player. That's what he kept thinking. He was the brave player, a player so macho and foolish that he could conquer a challenge like this with a cool head. He spotted a nearby ledge running alongside the ravine and landed on it. Up ahead he saw the end up the ledge turn upward like a ramp and another ledge on the other side, though this one was higher. Managing the jump would be insane, right?

"Nope," Wolley muttered, shooting off of the ledge and landing on the higher one. He could now see the rest of the track. The ravine would end in about 100 feet, followed by a 200 foot wide crater filled with spires and then it would be over. While there was no ramplike incline at the end of this ledge, he managed to jump at the very end, giving him one last boost as he headed for the end stretch.

The players and host waited at the far end of the crater. Because of the cluster of pillars, they were unable to see what was going on so all they could do was wait hopefully.

"This could end pretty badly is he crashes couldn't it?" asked Toadiko.

Anderson shook his head. "It shouldn't as long as our safety team doesn't mess up. The worst thing that should happen to him is a bruise or a cut."

Toadiko breathed a sigh of relief. "Still, it all seems pretty dangerous."

"I don't think I would have been able to do it," said Mona, finally having recovered from her fuzzy trauma.

"I'd be Mario was the only other player who could have," said Mallow, trying to locate Wolley.

"I'd take fighting Bowser over that," admitted Shy Guy.

"Guys," called Timpani. "I think I see something!"

"Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaah!" cheered Wolley as he gloriously emerged from the forest of rock. When he was about 30 feet above the ground he let go of the hang-glider and landed skillfully on the sandy earth below him. He slid to a stop right in front of the players, spraying sand on all of them.

"Show off," grumbled Toadiko.

"Congratulations Wolley!" cheered Anderson, sounding genuinely surprised. "You completed your challenge, adding 7,000 coins to the team pot!"

"Hellz yeah!" cheered the adrenaline-fueled toad.

"But we have one more result to get, Mallow!" said Anderson, suddenly turning to the nimbian. "As part of your challenge, you had to bet 3,000 coins on whether or not Wolley would complete his challenge. Here I have your guess," he said, pulling out a piece of paper. He held it out for all the players to see.

_ He will_

"Yeah, thanks for having confidence in me buddy!" cheered Wolley, giving him a high five. All of the players began to cheer for both Wolley's bravery and their overall success.

"You all earned a total of 15,250 coins for this challenge, but I'll round it up to 16,000!" announced Anderson.

**Team Pot**

**103,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**16,000 coins**

**Result: 119,000 coins**

**Possible: 247,000 coins**

* * *

The players soon found themselves back at the Remix Carnival. There, Anderson finally decided to inform them of their next course of action. "I hope you guys are ready for more walking," began the host. Everyone began to groan. "Because we'll be walking to somewhere even farther from here than Yellast!"

The group stared at him in shocked silence for a moment before Wolley shouted "Mutiny!" and lunged for the host.

"Okay okay!" yelled the host, jumping out of the way. "I lied! Mr. Pokervarz from Yellast has agreed to drive you guys to our next location as thanks for paying for his new truck!"

"Well, I think I know what our next challenge is," said Mallow, getting a laugh from the group.

"No, Mallow," said Anderson. "We didn't rig it thi- er um I mean that's highly unlikely!" He grinned sheepishly as the players stared confusedly at him. "Ah, there he is now!" The players turned to see a shiny red pickup truck blazing across the desert towards them. "Before you guys go," said Anderson, drawing the players' attention back to him. "I should let you know where you're going. You'll be spending the night at a small cow ranch (with an English-speaking family) in the oasis region, Aguatario. It's actually a pretty nice place, so you can consider your time out in the harsh wilderness more or less over."

"Huzzah!" cheered Mallow.

"Yes!" chirped Wolley and Toadiko simultaneously.

The pickup truck pulled to a stop a few feet in front of the players. "I'll meet you there tonight," said Anderson, waving goodbye. The players piled into the back, Wolley raising the fresh umbrella that was waiting there for them.

"We leave now," stuttered Pokervarz in his very very limited English.

"Bugratedeck!" thanked Toadiko as the pokey raised his windows.

"So," began Mona as the truck began to move. "Anderson mentioned a cow ranch. So are the people there cowboys?"

"Pretty much," replied Toadiko. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Mona's childlike wonder.

"Cowboys! That's so cool! It'll be like the wild west guys!" chirped Mona.

"But we're not west," said Timpani. "We're southeast!" she said, pointing in a direction she hoped was southeast.

"We're west of somewhere!" argued Wolley, putting his hand to his hip like it was a gunslinger's holster.

"It's the wild wild something or another," concluded Toadiko. "I mean, there's cows, cowboys, bandits, wide open plains, all the good stuff!"

"Yeehaw!"

"Wolley, please. We didn't need that," groaned Timpani.

"I can bet you the producers are going to use that as an episode preview," argued Wolley.

"Wolley, the _kingdom_ didn't need that," said Timpani, sighing.

_Wolley:__ I wish I could make a pun without Timpani getting on my case about it. She needs to loosen up a bit._

After that point, the group began to split up into different conversations. Mona attempted to get more of Shy Guy's past out of him (with limited success), Toadiko explained the strangeness of Molesque 2 to Wolley, and Mallow, Timpani, and Shy Guy were discussing their experiences in Remix Carnival. These managed to digress and last for a couple of hours until Pokervarz pulled up at a gas station to buy them some food for the road (Anderson had given them limited snacks, but they had soon run out).

A crew van pulled up with them and warned them they were on a tight schedule and needed to make the stop as quick as possible. "I'll make sure Mona only gets water," muttered Timpani, following the other human back to the drinks section.

Toadiko picked up a few bags of trail mix while Wolley grabbed several large bags of potato chips. "Really?" asked Toadiko, looking skeptically at the bags. Wolley just grinned and walked to the counter.

"Do you think anyone needs sunblock?" asked Shy Guy, standing confusedly in front of said product.

"Er, I don't know," said Mallow, also quite confused. "How often do they need this stuff?"

"Hey Toadiko," Shy Guy finally called. "Do you guys need sunblock or is that weird and unnecessary to ask?"

Toadiko giggled at his ignorance. "No, go ahead and grab some, I appreciate it!" Mallow and Shy Guy looked at each other and shrugged.

While Wolley, Mona, and Timpani were waiting for the others outside, they were approached by an elderly beanish man. "Do any of you speak English?" he asked, flustered.

"Conveniently enough, we all do," said Wolley. "Whatcha need?"

"Oh wonderful!" said the man, brightening up a bit. "You see, one of my tires has gone flat and I don't have the strength to change it. I have a jack, but I'm not strong enough for it," he explained.

"Don't worry, we can help you!" Timpani immediately volunteered.

"Huh?" gasped Wolley.

"Just do it!" snapped Timpani, glaring at him. "Don't be rude," she hissed.

"Guys, you really need to hurry!" called a crewmember as the other players exited the store.

"Sorry, but this man really needs help!" insisted Timpani. She dragged Wolley and Mona over to his car and grabbed the jack from his trunk. Wolley helped use the jack and Mona (the only one who know what she was doing with an automobile) quickly exchanged the tire for a fresh one.

"There you go, good as new!" she said with a bright smile.

"Oh thank you all so much!" the old man said happily. "I'm sorry I had to take up your valuable time, it sounds like you're in a hurry."

"It doesn't matter," said Timpani. "We'll always make sure to help someone in need."

As they were making their way back to Pokervarz's truck, Anderson jumped out of one of the crew vans and made his way over to them. "Good job, Timpani! You've shown that this game hasn't driven you beyond the point of compassion and because of that, you've passed this morality test!"

"Morality test?" asked Timpani.

"Yes, it's a secret test where if you do the right thing, you earn money, simple as that," said Anderson. "And in this case, you've earned 10,000 coins."

"Jeez, 10,000 coins that easily?" gasped Wolley. "Sounds too good to be true!"

"Oh but it's not," said Anderson. "We like to reward players who can still stay above malevolent behavior."

**Team Pot**

**119,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**10,000 coins**

**Result: 129,000 coins**

**Possible: 257,000 coins**

* * *

By the time the truck arrived in Aguatario, the sun was already setting. This time, however, the players couldn't notice the sand turning orange, because the road had just led them into a lush field of grass. The sight was a relief after two days in the harsh, sandy wilderness.

"Is this heaven?" asked Wolley, looking longingly at the green grass and crystal clear pools of water that made up his new environment.

"Nope, just a massive oasis," said Toadiko, also looking around happily.

"Why don't you tell us about it?" insisted Timpani.

"Alright," said Toadiko, turning back to the players. "There's a huge underground lake under this region of the desert," she explained. "It moisturized the ground enough for grass and palm trees to grow and created pools of water up on the surface. So this is where most of the agriculture in the area happens. People grow a few crops, though the land is mainly pastures and ranches for livestock. Oddly enough, the weather here is much more moderate than the rest of the desert, but I'll let Mallow explain it-."

"Yeah, I got nothing."

"Well then, um, just know that this place will be a pleasant break from the desert heat. The only thing the people here worry about are the bandits," said Toadiko.

"Bandits?" asked Shy Guy, clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, bandits," said Toadiko dramatically. "They will often steal cows from the ranchers, but that's nothing we'll have to worry about… I hope."

A couple minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a fairly large ranch house. A goomba wearing a large cowboy hat was standing at the front door. "Welcome!" he called with a slight accent.

"English," sighed Mona with relief. "Maybe the language barrier will be over now!"

"Probably not," said Toadiko, hopping out of the truck. Mona and Wolley both sighed.

"Thank you very much for letting us stay here," Timpani said gratefully as she walked in.

"Oh it's no problem," the goomba said pleasantly. "I've been told y'all might repay me by helping us out with the bandit problem."

"We will?" asked Timpani.

"Perhaps I've said too much," the goomba said quickly, closing the door behind him.

* * *

The next morning, the players met for brunch on the house's deck overlooking the pasture. The view stretched for miles, three miles in fact. The small wooden deck seemed like an island in a sea of grass. That was the main focus of the players attention as they sat at the plain wooden table and shoveled down pancakes. Well, it was the main focus until Anderson showed up.

"Hello players!" he said cheerfully. "Have you been enjoying your time in the oasis?" The response was a unanimous yes, expressed with nods, whoops, and cheers. "Then perhaps you'll find today's challenge a little more enjoyable."

"_Another_ challenge?" sighed Shy Guy. "This would be the fourth this round if you count the morality challenge."

"Indeed it would be, but you gotta earn that money somehow, right?" Anderson asked rhetorically. "Now you won't be starting the challenge yet, but I'd like to inform you that it's 10:30 now and it will begin around noon, so enjoy your relaxation while you can."

"Thanks Anderson," muttered Mallow as the host left. "It feels like we haven't gotten any time off in this episode. All we do is do a challenge or travel to somewhere new! I'd like to just rest for a bit."

"We have two hours," pointed out Toadiko.

"Two hours won't cut it," replied Mallow with a sigh.

"What about two hours on those squishy looking deck chairs?" asked Mona, pointing to said chairs.

"I know _I_ am totally cool with that," said Wolley, getting up from the table and flopping into one of the six chairs. "Aw yeah, this is the life!" he said, stretching his limbs.

"Yeah, brunch has been nice guys, but I'd like some relaxation!" said Mona, lying down on the chair next to Wolley.

"Same!" called Mallow, jumping onto the next one.

"Hmph, well at least you two are polite," said Timpani, eyeing the other two as if daring them to leave.

"About that," Shy Guy began awkwardly. He quickly jumped out of his uncomfortable chair at the table and onto one of the deck chairs.

"Yeah, sorry Timpani," said Toadiko, slowly getting down from her seat and sitting in one of the deck chairs. Timpani sighed with annoyance and got into the last remaining deck chair.

_Timpani:__ I just wish the other players would show some more manners. Thooough this chair is pretty great!_

About an hour and a half later, the players were awoken by an angry shout. "Really? You're seriously sleeping up here?" snapped a figure with various limbs waving around angrily.

"Wha?" grumbled Shy Guy.

"Players!" shouted Anderson. They all suddenly sat up straight. "There you go, rise and shine," he said mockingly. "It's time for your next challenge!"

"What?" gasped Timpani. "Wasn't one of you supposed to wake us up so we'd be prepared?"

Shy Guy turned groggily towards her. "We all agreed that was your job."

"Oh my," Timpani said quietly, lowering her head in shame.

"Now then, give me two players who want to be cowboys, three players with keen eyes, and one player who can count to 357," ordered Anderson. Mallow, Mona, and Wolley all volunteered to be cowboys while Timpani, Toadiko, and Shy Guy easily accepted the keen eyes roles.

"Mallow, you had a counting money part in your remix, right?" asked Mona, waking up a bit more.

"Er yea-."

"Then you certainly know how to count," said Mona, "Take the role."

Mallow sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll count."

"Are you all sure about your roles?" asked Anderson. The players nodded. "Wonderful! This challenge is called 'Ranch Revolt'. Like our gracious host hinted, you'll be helping fend off bandits. Players with keen eyes, you'll be posted on three towers with binoculars and radios. If you see bandits, let the cowboys know where the threat is and their job is to chase them away with super scopes. The bandits will be attempting to steal cows from the pasture. If they manage to take ten out of the fence, you all lose. However, if you can fend off the bandits until nighttime, you will earn 15,000 coins. Then, if and only if you earn the first 15,000, our counter will be able to present me with the number of cows he counted in the pasture. If he guesses correctly, you win another 5,000 coins. But remember, if you don't win the first part, then you have no chance at the last 5,000 coins."

"This sounds like an easier version of Castle Crashers," Shy Guy said confidently.

"Which you lost twice," countered Anderson. "And one more thing. We have no idea when the bandits may strike, so stay on your toes, you could be in for a long wait."

* * *

"Yeehaw!" cheered Mona, zooming around the edge of the fence on a motor bike. "You know," she said into the radio. "These bikes may not be the same as authentic cowboy horses, but I feel pretty awesome right now!" As she zoomed by, Mallow noticed she was dressed in a cowboy hat, a bandanna, a denim jacket, jeans, chaps, and cowboy boots, complete with spurs.

Mallow looked at her confusedly as she whizzed by. "Where did you even get that outfit?" he asked into the radio.

"It was mandatory!" replied Wolley gleefully as he zoomed past Mallow. The nimbian noticed that Wolley was dressed in more or less the same outfit as Mona.

"Ah, jeez," muttered Mallow. "Now then, onto the counting!" he said to himself. He began to pace around the perimeter of the pasture to get an idea of where the cows may be.

_Mallow:__ I didn't realize how big this pasture was. This is gonna be a loooong walk._

However, an hour had passed and Mallow found himself in one of the far corners. Much to his confusion, he had yet to hear of any action. "Um, anything happen yet?" he said into the radio.

Up in her watch tower, Timpani sat up with a jolt and quickly scanned the horizon. "Nope," she replied with a hint of uncertainty.

"I swear I've been looking at the same sand dune for the last hour," groaned Toadiko. "It figures we'd be put on a ranch bordering the desert. It makes the watch all the more boring." She stared ahead, her eyelids drooping.

After the second hour of the game had passed, Mallow was just making it back to his starting position. Meanwhile, the watchers remained quiet in their posts and the two cowboys had decided to keep watch in the far corners in an effort to preserve their bikes' fuel. At 2:15, Wolley was startled by a loud bang. Off in the distance, he saw smoke clearing from where someone had (unnecessarily) just blown a hole in the fence.

"Are you guys blind?" Wolley shouted into the radio.

"Huh?" gasped Toadiko, Shy Guy, and Timpani.

"The bandits are here guys! I repeat, the bandits are here!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Get ready internet, because the quiz is coming up next! Well, that and several thousand more words of challenge and other stuff, but just let me be like John Kelly! **

**Anywho, I'd like to announce that Fiend's Burrow has hit two big milestones! This chapter will push the story over 100,000 words, officially putting it in the longest classification of stories on the site! The second milestone hasn't actually been hit yet. As of the time this chapter is being posted, there are currently 49 reviews on the story and this chapter should yield the 50th which, while low compared to some other stories, I'm immensely grateful to get this much support and feedback from you guys! Really, every review means a ton to me, so thank you so much!**

**~Vivalahomestar**


	21. Dehydrated Execution

**Author's Notes: Bam, another one! I feel like I've been on a roll with these chapters! Though, anything shorter than a several-month hiatus is probably considered a roll for me. If you're curious why these are going up so quickly, it's because midterm exams have just finished, so I have a lot of free time to write these. Also, I'm aiming to get episode 6 done by March 6****th**** because that will be this story's 3****rd**** anniversary and the more of this story I have up, the less bad I'm going to feel on that day!**

_Episode 5 Final Part (5)_

With Mona at the other end of the pasture, Wolley was the only one who could go after the bandits. He began to charge the super scope as he drove towards the scurrying robed rogues. "Hold it!" he shouted.

The five bandits, who were beginning to tie a lead to one of the cows, froze. "Cuh-rap!" one of them shouted. "Get 'im, Bruce!" A bandit clad in black, evidently named Bruce, pulled a large tube from behind his back.

"What is?" Wolley began to ask when a bullet bill suddenly shot out of the tube. "F#$%!" he bleeped as the missile soared towards him. Before he could swerve, it collided with his front tire, stopping the vehicle in its place and sending him flying off the handle. Wolley managed to land on his feet with relative grace. "I've been practicing smooth landings," he said, pointing the super scope at the bandits. "Now back away from the beef."

"Get outta here, puny boy!" spat Bruce, firing another bullet bill at him. Wolley used a charged shot to destroy it. The other bandits gave up on wrangling the cow and slowly began to approach Wolley, pulling out super scopes of their own.

"Just a warning," Wolley said calmly into the radio. "The bandits are armed." With a roar, he dashed away towards his crashed bike as the bandits opened fire on him. He managed to mount his trusty steed without taking any major damage and quickly took off before that fact changed. He circled behind the group, shooting at them as he turned. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as good of a shot as Shy Guy and only made occasional lucky shots because of that.

Bruce the bandit began chasing after the bike, firing bullets as fast as he could (which was still only one every few seconds). When one missed the toad's head by inches, he decided he'd had enough. Bruce was suddenly met with a lucky (for Wolley) charged shot to the face, knocking him on his back and sending the bill blaster flying. Wolley slowed his pace to put the super scope back in his holster and scoop up the fallen bill blaster. The bandits now found themselves facing a speeding toad about to fire a large projectile at them.

_Bam!_ The bullet collided with one of the bandits, spilling him on his face and knocking the wind out of him. Wolley also found the wind being knocked out of him when he failed to account for the blaster's kickback, sending him flying off his bike and the blaster even farther. Bruce quickly recovered his weapon and began to chase Wolley down as he desperately attempted to get back on his bike. With Wolley back on the run and his gun still in his holster, two of the bandits were able to slip off from the group and focus on capturing a cow once again.

"Stop!" shouted Wolley, attempting to hit the bandits with rapid fire, but he only succeeded in hitting the cow. He was beginning to feel desperate at this point. He simply couldn't aim while driving and maneuvering around various forms of ammo flying at his face. Finally, he formed a plan that only an angry, desperate man on a bike could form: he'd ram them.

"What's this kid doin'?" cried one of the bandits handling the cow as Wolley began to charge towards them at full speed. The bandits were forced to dive away from the cow as Wolley streaked by. The toad chuckled evilly and came around for another attack, but this time the bandits were a bit more prepared. As he got close to the lumbering beast, one of the bandits began to shoot the bike's front tires, knocking it off course. To Wolley's horror, he found himself heading right for the cow. Upon impact, he flew off the bike and over the cow, landing face-first on the ground.

"Sorry cow," he moaned, attempting to lift himself off the ground. This wreck had been rough. Wolley's limbs burned as he attempted to move them and finding the strength to lift himself up was tough. Before he could even get out of a lying down position, the bandits had snuck a cow out from the fence. "That's one cow escaped," he sighed into the radio.

"What?" cried Toadiko. "Wolley why are you letting them take the cows, you Mole?" Wolley grimaced as the words came out. Though he found the criticism to be enough motivation to push himself up and pull out the super scope. A second one had just been escorted out as he aimed the scope at the unaware bandits. He made sure to hit Bruce in the head.

"Okay, they got two, but that's the last I'll let them get, I'm up," he said. Shy Guy and Timpani were both just close enough to see what had happened with their binoculars, but Toadiko was still outraged.

"Let them? Wolley, what are you doing?" she snapped into the radio.

"Them bandits are tough," Shy Guy said into the radio, putting on an accent. "He's handled them pretty well, I reckon."

"We gots to take this kid out," said one of the bandits, this one in red. He seemed to be the leader of the bunch.

"Maybe let's ignore the cows and just focus on eliminating this brat!" replied Bruce, holding up his bill blaster.

"I'm not just some kid!" insisted Wolley as he propped up his bike. "I'm an adult! I went to college!"

"Yeah, whatever kid," grunted Bruce, aiming the bill blaster. Wolley yelped and hopped onto the bike, driving out of the way just in time. "Drat," muttered Bruce.

Every time Wolley would try to turn away from the bandits, one of them would fire shots in his way, forcing him to turn back towards him. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by the five masked moochers and they were all prepared to shoot.

"Now of course we ain't allowed to kill you," said Red. "But our combined firepower might knock you out for a few hours, say your prayers, brat!" The five guns began to charge up as Wolley desperately searched for a way out.

Before anyone could shoot, a charged shot flew out of seemingly nowhere and hit one of the bandits. The other four looked around in confusion before a second shot hit Red. "What's going on?" shouted Bruce, beginning to panic. A large object suddenly slammed into him at high speeds, knocking him off his feet.

The runaway bike came to a halt right as a preppy voice shouted, "Hands up!" The other two bandits whirled around to face the source of the assault: Mona Martin. "Well, actually you can put your hands down if you want, I'm still gonna blast you!" She gave the bandits a few seconds to let that message sink in before she fired, catching both of them with the shot.

"My hero!" said Wolley with mock admiration. He hopped off of his bike and walked over to the fellow cowboy. "Really though, thanks for saving me there," he said honestly.

"No prob, man," Mona said with a grin. She then turned to look at the fleeing bandits. "So is that it?" she asked skeptically. She tilted her hat over her eyes to cut out the glare, which made her look a bit more like a stereotypical tough-guy type of cowboy. "The sun ain't down and they're only a fifth of the way to their goal, they'll be back," she said as she grabbed a piece of straw. "A sheriff's work is never done," she said solemnly. Wolley watched her confusedly as she began to chew on the piece of straw.

_Wolley:__ I think Mona may have been a bit too into the cowboy roleplay._

Toadiko's voice suddenly buzzed onto the radio. "I've spotted a group of bandits!" she said frantically. The two cowboys jumped up in surprise at her sudden announcement.

Mona's head began snapping back and forth between the fleeing bandits in the distance and the nearest watch tower. "Um, can you see us too?" she asked nervously.

"Nope!" came the cry. Mona and Wolley's gazes snapped towards each other, and both of their faces were stricken with panic.

"There's more bandits!" shouted Wolley, bouncing from foot to foot with nervous energy.

"I know!" replied Mona, looking between Wolley and the area of the pasture where she came from. "Should we both go there?" she asked quickly.

"No, Group A," he began, signifying with a point that the bandits they had just fought were the group in question, "might come back!"

"Okay, I guess I'll go fight Group B while you keep an eye out for Group A!" planned Mona frantically. As she spoke, she ran over to her fallen bike and hopped on.

Timpani, who had not heard their conversation, only seen it, suddenly started shouting over the radio. "What are you guys doing?"

"I was just about to go!" insisted Mona, revving the engine.

"Well quit wasting time and go," Shy Guy snapped quietly.

"What he said, but louder!" replied Toadiko.

"Okay, quit the yelling, pardners!" grumbled Mona, putting away the radio and rocketing off towards the new Group B.

Mona drove as fast as she could manage through the pasture, weaving around the occasional cow (and Mallow who was among the herd, counting) when needed; though it was fortunately a mostly straight shot, allowing Mona to make it across the pasture in just under three minutes. As she saw the new group of bandits, Mona slowed down and pulled out the radio. "Have they taken any cows out of the pasture?" she asked, her voice wavering as she tried to balance on the bike.

"Three so far," confirmed Toadiko. "So we're halfway to failure," she said with a sigh.

"That's as far as we'll get!" reassured Mona. She swapped the radio for her super scope and began the charge it up. As she took aim she finally got a good look at Group B. There were five bandits, like Group A. One wore a green robe, one yellow, one blue, and two wore white. Once she thought she was close enough, Mona released the shot.

"Yeowch!" cried the yellow bandit as the charged shot hit him in the chest. He was knocked off his feet.

The two white bandits roping up a cow immediately dropped the rope and tended to their comrade. "Yell, you alright?"

"Yeah," grunted Yell. He sat up and looked at his speeding assailant. "Andy, I think it's time you brought out your weapon.

"Yessir!" chirped Andy, pulling out a small, orange flower.

Mona strained to see the object in the bandit's hand as she hopped off her bike and aimed the scope. "Whatcha got there?" she asked, waving the super scope around.

"Oh nothing," Andy said with mock innocence as the other four bandits slowly pulled out their super scopes. He suddenly crushed the fire flower in his hand.

"Aw cripes!" exclaimed Mona as Andy the bandit's body was covered in an opaque, fiery aura for a second. When the aura faded, her foe's white cloak was colored red and fire danced on his fingers.

"Now then," began Andy, juggling a fireball between his hands. "Drop your weapon, please." Mona defiantly shot at him, but the shot flew harmlessly over his head. "I warned you!" he cried with sudden loudness. He began tossing fireballs madly at Mona, all of which struck her dead on. Each hit stunned Mona and pushed her back until she was finally knocked to the ground.

"Uhg," moaned Mona, attempting to get a firm grasp on her weapon.

"Group A has noticed your departure," came the voice of Wolley over the radio. "I'm in for another encounter."

"Green, Blue, go work on stealing those cows," ordered Yell. "I think we can handle her on our own."

Mona gritted her teeth and grabbed her gun. She silently began to aim from the ground as the bandits chuckled smugly. As they looked down, Mona released rapid fire on the group, pushing Yell, Andy, and the white bandit back. "Oh really? You think you can take me?" growled Mona.

"Keep goin' after the cow!" snapped Yell, aiming his own super scope and firing a charged shot. Mona had to dive to the side to avoid the shot, giving Andy time to prepare more fireballs. Mona quickly started firing at him and only him as she backed up towards her bike. She noticed the green and blue bandits suddenly start running for the fence with a cow and tried to dash towards her bike, but in her frantic run, Andy caught her in the back with another fireball, knocking her over and letting the next cow escape.

"That's cow number six," announced Toadiko. She mumbled something angrily before turning it off.

"Come on guys, you can do it!" encouraged Mallow.

"How are things going on your end, by the way?" Shy Guy's voice asked. The conversation barely registered with Mona as she crawled towards her bike, taking hit after hit from the fireballs and super scopes.

"Honestly it seems pretty impossible," sighed Mallow. Mona had made it to her bike by that point.

"Oh really?" Shy Guy was skeptical. Mona didn't quite hear him though because her hand had clamped over it as she finally climbed onto her vehicle.

"But I'm thinking there's a trick to it, like maybe someone mentioned it or something," said Mallow.

"Sounds probable," Mona said into the radio, grinning at the fact that she now was back on her advantage. She put the radio down and tried her best to ignore it as she pulled out her super scope once again.

"Yikes, she's off!" exclaimed the white bandit. He was immediately met with a charged shot as Mona zipped by.

"They got another one," Wolley sighed over the radio.

"Wolley, if you're not on your bike, get on now!" suggested Mona, careening towards the cow the bandits were now attempting to steal.

"Hey, it's hard to stay on when you've got Bruce McBulletstein up on your case!" snapped Wolley.

Mona rolled her eyes as she charged at the green bandit, who dove out of the way. "Better watch out!" taunted Mona, now driving towards the blue one. Andy's fireballs forced her to turn away, however, much to her chagrin. The powered bandit began running towards her, fists ablaze. His rapid assaults were forcing Mona farther and farther from the cow, letting both bandits tie it up and lead it towards the fence. Soon, the inevitable happened: a fireball struck her back tire and sent her flying. "Cowboy M. down," she groaned.

A voice soon trickled from the radio. "Darn those bullet bills. Cowboy O. down."

"Well get back up, you can nurse your bruises later!" snapped Timpani.

"You got it!" shouted the two cowboys, both hopping up and grabbing their bikes. Mona was able to get going quickly, much to the surprise of the bandits. The two bandits stealing the cow made and odd squawking sound and began to run the last few feet to the fence. Mona managed to knock one off of its feet with her super scope, but the other was close enough that he simply shoved the cow the last few feet.

"This is hopeless!" Mona shouted. She grabbed the radio and shouted, "This challenged is rigged, it's impossible, this is ridiculous!" The radio was silent. Each player was shocked to hear Mona get frustrated like that. After her message in the radio, Mona sat, seething for a few moments until she was met with a fireball to the face. "Graaaaaaaaaaah!"

* * *

Over on Wolley's side, said toad was weaving around the various fire, doing his best to also keep close to the two bandits making off with the cow. He was able to deter them a bit, but ultimately they made it right up to the fence.

"Numero siete," he sighed.

"Actually it's ocho," corrected Toadiko.

"Oh."

"This isn't going well," said Shy Guy with a yawn.

"Don't worry, it's just because I'm the Mole!" joked Wolley with a grin.

"Pardon?" asked Shy Guy, his tone clearly confused.

"You heard me!" chuckled Wolley, turning his bike back towards his main assaulters. "Bruce!" he shouted, pointing his super scope at the black-robed bandit. "Perhaps I should find a way to deal with you for good!"

"What?" gasped Bruce. His sudden confusion and fear surprised Wolley, but gave him confidence.

"Oh, definitely murder," said Wolley, starting to speed up. "That's totally the kind of thing I do! I mean, I was totally cool with dumping Bowser into a pit of lava repeatedly so why should I be worried about running over a bandit?"

Bruce couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not and began to nervously back away. "Calm down kid!" he said commandingly.

"Bwahahaha!" cackled Wolley, heading straight towards the bandit at breakneck speeds. Bruce shouted in terror before Wolley swerved at the last second while reaching out towards his foe. His hand snagged Bruce's bullet blaster, which Wolley happily kept in his grasp.

"You can't even fire that, punk!" Bruce shouted after him, furious that he had been tricked.

"I don't need to!" replied Wolley, heading back towards to the cow. His jaw dropped. The next cow was already being led out.

"Wolley, your showy antics are costing us!" snapped Timpani. "One more cow and we're done!"

_Timpani:__ Wolley could have just zipped in and swiped the blaster, but noooo, he just had to make a show of it! His showiness is going to be the death of the team!_

"I got this covered!" insisted Wolley. "Hey bandits!" he shouted to Group A. "If anyone tries any funny business, I'm smacking them with Bruce's bullet blaster at high speeds! Them's the brakes!" Each bandit looked at one another nervously, no one making a move.

"Fine then," one of them finally announced. "We'll just let the others win it for us!" He snickered wildly. Wolley rode up and bopped him lightly on the face. "Hey, what was that for?"

"I'm the only one who's allowed to be smug in this situation, got it?"

* * *

Mona used her previous tactic of abandoning her bike and letting it crash into someone. It worked superbly as evidenced by the smoldering pile of bandit that lay on the ground. "I'll get yoooouuu," spat Andy weakly. Mona took advantage of the moment to run in front of the hole in the fence and begin to push the bandits and cow away from the exit. "Take some inspiration from her!" called Andy upon seeing the situation.

"What?" Mona asked confusedly. She still stood there, defiantly firing at the bandits. Oddly enough, two bandits were still focusing more on roping up the cow than avoiding her shots. Didn't they know they wouldn't be getting past her? They then stood up and started walking the cow towards her. She shot at them, but they did their best to duck behind the lumbering mammal. Then they began to speed up, running, then sprinting, with the cow keeping up. Mona now found herself faced with a half-ton beast stampeding towards her. She had no choice but to dive out of the way, letting the cow escort itself out of the pasture.

"Numero diez."

* * *

Anderson had ordered the players to take showers before discussing results. Once the final player arrived in a fresh set of clothes, he clapped his tentacles together. "Great, now that you all are free of dirt and cow pies, we may discuss this challenge!"

"This unfairly difficult challenge," muttered Mona.

"Perhaps," said Anderson, grinning smugly to himself. "Or perhaps one of our cowboys is the Mole, who knows?"

"Or one of the lookouts," commented Wolley, casting suspicious glares at the three players in question.

"Wait, what?" gasped Timpani. "What in the world did we do wrong?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Well you all didn't notice when the bandits approached. I might have been able to prevent them from entering in the first place if I knew they were there. Then Mona would have been over by hers and could have done the same thing!" he explained. "I've thought a lot about this," he whispered to himself.

"That's a fair point," admitted Shy Guy, looking down at his feet.

"You all didn't even sound very awake, did any of you fall asleep?" accused Wolley, looking around suspiciously.

"No, of course not!" Timpani said quickly. Everyone looked at her suspiciously. "I didn't fall asleep!" she insisted. "I may have sat down and zoned out for a while, but no sleep!"

_Wolley:__ Look who was being selfish this time! Oh how the tables have turned!_

"Well if that's not suspicious behavior then I don't know what is," said Anderson, narrowing his eyes. "Regardless, you all failed the first part of your challenge, meaning you don't get any money."

**Team Pot**

**129,000 coins**

**(plus)**

**0 coins**

**Result: 129,000 coins**

**Possible: 277,000 coins**

"Though, I'm curious," began Anderson. "Mallow, what is your guess for the number of cows?"

"I'm not positive about this," Mallow admitted, looking down at his shoes like they were suddenly interesting. "357?" he answered without confidence.

"Well sadly, due to your teammates' failure you earn no money," said the host. "But you are spot on! Well technically ten off now, but that's not the point. How did you count them all?"

"I didn't actually manage to count them all," said the weatherman. "I tried, but I didn't get to in time. But I realized that there had to be a trick to it, so I thought back to what my role was. It wasn't just counting, it was someone who could count to 357!"

"Wow, that's clever," admitted Toadiko. "I'm not quite sure if I would have gotten that."

"I vaguely remember Mario mentioning something like that happening in a foreign season, so that's how I thought of that," said Mallow. "Once again all credit to the hero."

"Nah, you were clever on your own!" said Wolley, grinning and giving him a pat on the back. "So good job earning us 5,000 hypothetical coins!"

Mallow smiled brightly. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, congrats," added Shy Guy. The other players gave him their appreciation before Anderson cut in.

"Well yes, Mallow would have helped out, but will he be able to help out in our next episode?" asked the host.

Mallow looked at him warily. "I don't like the sound of that hypothetical question!"

"You all know what this means, don't you?" he asked grimly. The players nodded. "Come inside then. We shall have our pre-execution dinner."

He led everyone inside to a table which had already been set with silverware and drinks. "Oh, he actually decided to hydrate us," snickered Shy Guy, taking a sip of water. The other players soon greedily gulped down their drinks as Anderson mysteriously left the room.

"Where do you think he went?" asked Toadiko with a yawn.

"Who knows," muttered Timpani apathetically.

"Probably off to-," Shy Guy fell face forward. He had fallen asleep midway through his sentence.

"Shy Gu-?" Toadiko was the next to pass out. Wolley, Mona, and Mallow passed out seconds afterward.

"This is… troubling," yawned Timpani, who had politely sipped at her water instead of chugging it like the others. Her eyelids began to get heavy as she saw Anderson enter along with four other figures. While she would only recognize Dryette, with her was also Shy Man, Smoke Woman, and the shady mole. As she finally lost consciousness, they began lifting the players and transporting them to parts unknown.

* * *

An air horn blared into the desert air, awakening the players with a jolt. Before them stood a mighty pyramid, weathered with age, but awe inspiring nonetheless. Judging by its yellow color, it had been from the stone in this very desert, or perhaps it had been discolored over the years, no one truly knew.

Anderson sat on one of the pyramid's blocks. He looked up as he leisurely tossed the air horn from tentacle to tentacle. "Welcome to your fifth execution!" he said with an evil grin. On cue, a secret passage slid open at the base of the massive structure. "Well would you look at that, I guess it's time!"

**Execution Quiz #5**

**#1 – Which challenge was the Mole's remix based off of?**

**-Pipeline Rocketboard**

**-Bag Shooters**

**-Super Mole Bros.**

**-Tops and Trapdoors**

**-Rooftop Run**

**-The Master's Challenges**

**-Greed of the Miner**

**-Hairy Situation**

**-Castle Crashers**

**-Molesque**

**-Volcano Surfing**

**-Volcanic Breakout**

**-Gameshow Teaser**

**-The Execution Quizzes**

_Mallow:__ So much for a one in five chance on these questions…_

**#2 – How old is the Mole?**

**-21 years old**

**-23 years old**

**-28 years old**

**-1053 years old**

_Toadiko:__ Her looks may hide it, but I need to remember that Timpani comes from an ancient tribe. Who knows what knowledge she's amassed in her brain?_

**#3 – What was the Mole's role in Overheating Odyssey**

**-Getting buckets of water**

**-Getting the water tanker**

**#4 – Did the Mole help win the morality challenge?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**#5 – Did the Mole win their remix?**

**-Yes**

**-No**

**-Partially**

_Wolley:__ The Mole was alone in their challenge. They had the perfect opportunity to sabotage and then give a flawless explanation later._

**#6 – What was the Mole's role in Ranch Revolt?**

**-Watchman**

**-Cowboy**

**-Counter**

_Shy Guy:__ Counter would be the safest role for the Mole. If the other's succeed, they could instantly make sure some money isn't earned._

**#7 – What episode was the Mole's remix from?**

**-Episode 1**

**-Episode 2**

**-Episode 3**

**-Episode 4**

**-Multiple Episodes**

_Timpani:__ Fortunately my great memory allows me to remember which episode each mission came from!_

**#8 – Did the Mole manage to receive information from a local in Overheating Odyssey?**

**-Yes**

**-Tried but didn't**

**-Didn't try**

**#9 – Who did the Mole share a tent with outside of the Grand Bluffs?**

**-Timpani**

**-Toadiko**

**-Mallow**

**-Mona**

**-Wolley**

**-Shy Guy**

_Mona:__ Well, this is the fifth time I'm about to answer this question. I sure hope I've gotten better at answering it._

**#10 – Who is the Mole?**

**-Wolley Ohtoad**

**-Mona Martin**

**-Timpani Bleck**

**-Toadiko Shroomose**

**-Mallow Nimbus**

**-Shy Guy Maskio**

The dreaded screen was set up in a large, dusty chamber in the pyramid. Anderson stood behind a platform that looked like it was meant to hold a sarcophagus. He looked absolutely menacing in the torch light. "I will enter your names into the laptop," Anderson explained for the fifth time. "If a green thumbprint shows up, you are safe. If a red thumbprint shows up, well… Toadiko, I believe you saw the fate of the Mole's fifth victim in your remix."

Toadiko looked up nervously and nodded. "He or she will be chained up in the desert, left to dry out." She gulped and clenched her fists.

"Correct," replied Anderson. "Execution awaits one of you." He scanned the soon-to-shrink group for a moment. "But not Shy Guy. Mr. Maskio, please hand me your exemption." The actor slowly got up and handed the host the green card. "Let me go ahead and enter your name into the machine."

S

H

Y

G

U

Y

.

.

.

.

Green

"But of course we knew that already," said the host. He looked up with a malevolent grin and stared into the eyes of each remaining player. "Mallow Nimbus!" he suddenly shouted.

"Oh no," moaned the weatherman, burying his face in his hands.

M

A

L

L

O

W

.

.

.

.

Green

Mallow peaked between his fingers and breathed a sigh of relief when the safe color came up. He quickly looked over at the others sadly.

"You are not the Mole's fifth victim." Anderson paused for a second, allowing tension to build. "Mona Martin!" he shouted, causing the players to jump.

M

O

N

A

.

.

.

.

.

.

Green

"That's… wow," breathed Mona with a tiny smile.

"Half of you are safe," announced Anderson. "It's a one in three chance now. Will you luck out, Toadiko Shroomose?"

"I sure hope so," she whispered.

T

O

A

D

I

K

O

.

.

.

Green

"I guess you do," said Anderson. Toadiko nodded solemnly. "It's now down to Timpani Bleck and Wolley Ohtoad."

T

I

M

P

A

N

I

.

.

.

Green

Wolley looked up at the host, a grin on his face, but sadness in his eyes. "Anderson, do you think you could enter my name one last time?"

Anderson nodded sadly. "I sure can, Wolley Ohtoad."

W

O

L

L

E

Y

.

.

.

.

Red

"Oh no, I'm so surprised!" shouted Wolley jokingly. Nobody else laughed, they all simply looked at him sadly.

"Wolley, you are the Mole's fifth victim," Anderson said with a frown. He grabbed the executed player's bag and placed it on the platform.

"It's about damn time. Mole, I may have gone to college, but I'm still not brilliant, I should have been gone a while ago!" he said, waltzing up to the platform and grabbing his bag.

"You're leaving with an insult to the Mole?" questioned Anderson. Wolley nodded with a grin. "What a great way to go out!" The remaining players chuckled and clapped for their fallen teammate. Anderson began to lead Wolley out, opening up a secret passage in one of the walls.

"Wolley!" Toadiko suddenly cried, standing up.

Wolley stopped and slowly turned to face her. "Yes?"

"I forgive you! And I'm sorry I was so rude to you for this past week!" she said, her eyes growing wet. "Can you forgive me for treating you so poorly?"

Wolley grinned brightly. "Hellz yeah! Toadiko, ol buddy, I hope that next time I see you, you'll be a rich woman!" He looked around at the other players and chuckled. "Sorry to play favorites, guys! Honestly I'll be happy to see any of you get the money, you're all rad in my book!" And with that, he walked calmly out of the pyramid to where Anderson was waiting impatiently.

"You know, I shouldn't have let you speak to them for that long," said Anderson, tapping his foot on the ground.

Wolley snorted. "Hey, you gotta let magnificent bastards have their touching goodbyes!" He looked back at the pyramid with a fond smile. "I'll admit, I wish it wasn't me, but eh, them's the brakes!"

"Sadly they are," said Anderson.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, Timpani was the first one to speak. "You know, as much as that kid annoyed me, it's sad to see him go."

"He brought a certain energy to the group that even I can't bring," sighed Mona.

"Yeah," said Shy Guy. "I think he really helped me come out of my shell with you guys. He motivated everyone to be social."

"And even when he was getting on people's nerves, he was still trying to be people's friends!" said Mallow sadly.

"I took his friendship for granted," muttered Toadiko sadly.

"I'm sure he appreciated you though," said Mona. "When he wasn't wisecracking he really did appreciate us all!"

**Flashback:** _"Thanks for having confidence in me, buddy!" "Really though, thanks for saving me there."_

The players the grew silent, reflecting both on the positive moments they had with the Mole's latest victim and on the fact that only four of them were true players.

* * *

"What was your favorite part of the game?" Anderson asked.

Wolley didn't bother thinking about the answer, he knew it already. "The challenges. Especially the thrilling ones. I'm a thrill-seeker and it was nice to get an adrenaline rush from friendly competition instead of saving the princess for once!"

"I figured it would be something like that," said Anderson. "Well Wolley, your wit and enthusiasm have certainly brought life to your fellow players, but I'm afraid it's time for you to go." He pulled some shackles out of a duffle bag. "You are the Mole's fifth victim."

* * *

The Mole and the four remaining players were led East of the pyramid. In a seemingly random spot in the desert, they came upon five green motor bikes.

"Bikes!" cheered Mona. Somehow the past challenges hadn't made her sick of them. "What are they here for?"

"You need to hurry to your next destination, so you'll be taking these," explained Anderson, making a grand gesture towards the shiny vehicles.

"Why do we need to hurry?" asked Mallow with a hint of nervousness.

"You have a train to catch," Anderson said simply.

"And where will we be boarding this train?" Timpani asked skeptically. She looked around the desert for any visible station but found none. The players suddenly heard a loud whistle echo throughout the desert, soon followed by the sight of a train barreling across the horizon.

Anderson grinned wickedly at his five remaining players. "Wherever you can catch it."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Nooooo! Wolley has been executed! If it wasn't obvious already, he was my favorite character in the story, but sadly it is his time to go. Like Wolley said, he's not brilliant, so it wouldn't make sense to bring him to the end, as much as I'd like to. Like Mario, it's going to be particularly weird writing-wise to see Wolley go. Wolley was definitely the easiest to write for and especially in the earlier episodes, he was often my comic relief option, so I'll once again have to deal with weirdness of losing a character. In addition, I already feel like 6 is strangely low, so 5 is just going to be awkward.**

**Lastly, because two males were executed in a row, episode 6 will be the first episode to have more female players than male players. Will the girls dominate and keep it that way, or will we have the usual finale of two guys and a girl? We'll see!**

**Anywho, leave a review about what you thought of the last challenge, the execution, the episode, and/or the identity of the Mole, I'd really appreciate it!**

**~Vivalahomestar**


	22. Another Mole Express

_Episode 6 Part 1_

_With half of the players eliminated, each who remains becomes increasingly distressed by their dwindling numbers. The end may be coming into sight, but that by no means signifies a decrease in difficulty. In fact, they will face some of the hardest trials of their lives. Of course, the hardest trial of all is simply answering a question. Who is the Mole?_

The Cactuar Express blazed through the desert, cutting through the monotonous landscape on its blade of a rail. Five green motorcycles swarmed the mighty locomotive like bees. Each was doing their best to keep up, but the most experienced rider of the five was the first to pull next to the train.

**Mona**

_Surname:__ Martin_

_Birthday:__ August 6_

_Occupation:__ Game Designer/Cook_

Mona carefully aligned herself with the ladder of the train's caboose and stretched out her right hand. Once she had a good hold on the ladder, she glanced behind her and shouted, "I'm ditching the bike, watch out!" She waited a few seconds, taking a deep breath. Finally, she tightened her grip, swung her left leg onto the bike's seat and jumped. She made it onto the train flawlessly.

The next player watched Mona's bike crash as she zoomed past it.

**Timpani**

_Surname:__ Bleck_

_Birthday:__ March 4_

_Occupation:__ Psychologist_

Timpani slowly edged her vehicle towards the train. "Oh my," she breathed nervously. Her eyes were fixated on the enormous wheels chugging around and around.

"Stay calm, Timpani!" instructed Mona. She held out her hand and beckoned her fellow human closer. "There you go," she said as the psychologist brought the bike as close to the train as she dared. "Now, grab my hand," ordered Mona.

Timpani nervously held out her hand. "It's quite hard to drive straight like this," she said, struggling to control her vehicle.

"That's why we need to do this next part quickly," said Mona. "Put your left foot up on the bike and jump, I'll pull you to safety." Timpani nodded nervously. "Do you want me to count it down for you?" Once again, Timpani nodded. "Three, two, one, jump!" shouted Mona. Right on cue, Timpani jumped with a yelp and Mona pulled her roughly onto the train.

"Woah, you could have warned me!" called the next contestant.

**Mallow**

_Surname:__ Nimbus_

_Birthday:__ April 24_

_Occupation:__ Weatherman_

"Sorry!" cried Mona as he drove up to the train. She grinned sheepishly as she held out her hand. "You're being awfully brave about this, Mallow."

Mallow shuddered and began to swerve a bit. "I'm trying not to think about what I'm going to do."

"That's probably good," said Mona, though she sounded unsure. "Grab my hand and don't think about the train." Mallow reached out and grabbed on tightly. "Now quickly, before you can think about it, I'm going to need you to jump off of your bike and over to the train."

Mallow began to shake nervously and his path began to wobble. "Mona, I'm not much of a jumper! I doubt I could make even that gap!"

"Maybe I could just pull you up," suggested Mona. "How much do you weigh?"

"Light as a feather isn't much of a hyperbole," Mallow said, trying to draw deep breaths.

"That'll work!" Mona said, yanking him up onto the train without warning.

"Yowza!" cried the puffball as he tumbled over to Timpani.

"Next please!" called Mona, leaning over the edge of the train.

"I usually have stunt doubles do this sort of thing for me," admitted the next player over the roar of the train.

**Shy Guy**

_Surname:__ Maskio_

_Birthday:__ July 5_

_Occupation:__ Actor_

"I'm sure this show has made you more than ready for this," said Mona, holding out her hand.

Shy Guy got the message and grabbed on. "So I just jump?" Mona nodded. "Take a good look at this, Carlos!" he said confidently before leaping onto the train.

The other players clapped excitedly for him. "Welcome aboard!" cheered Mallow.

"Guys, help!" came the terrified scream of the fifth and final contestant.

**Toadiko**

_Surname:__ Shroomose_

_Birthday:__ September 8_

_Occupation:__ Scholar_

Mona scurried back to the side of the train where Toadiko was riding. "Toadiko, grab my hand!" Mona shouted over the train's whistle.

Toadiko took her hand off the handlebars for a moment before it immediately snapped back on. "There's no way I can balance like that!" she snapped.

Mona rolled her eyes. "I sure hope you're light," she muttered to herself before reaching out and grabbing the toad by the back of her shirt and yanking her on board.

"Well," began Toadiko, breathing heavily. "That was an exciting way to start an episode."

The train's back door suddenly slid open and a six-legged figure stepped out. "Indeed it is!" Anderson Blooper said jollily. The players all jumped back with a shout.

"How did you get on so qui-?" shouted Mona before she was shushed by Anderson.

"You all need to quiet down!" he scolded in a loud whisper. "People are asleep on this train!" The players looked between each other awkwardly. In all of the excitement of their boarding they had forgotten it was still late into the night of their fifth execution. "Come with me, I'll take you to your sleeping car," he instructed. "Quitely," he added. As the players tip-toed through the various cars of the train, their eyelids began to feel like lead. It suddenly occurred to all of them what they had gone through that day. There had been an exhausting challenge, a trek through the desert, and an execution, all on top of no dinner and sleeping pills slipped into their drinks. When Anderson finally brought them into their car, no one bothered to change clothes or even take off their shoes, they all simply flopped onto their beds and fell into the arms of sleep.

* * *

The players found themselves being softly roused by the desert sun streaming in through their windows. The rhythmic chugging of the wheels below them coupled with the gentle warmth of the sunbeams threatened to put each contestant back to sleep.

"Goooood morning players!" shouted Anderson, striding into the room boisterously. The threat had been neutralized. "In case you've forgotten, I never actually provided you all with dinner last night, so I shall be taking you all to the dining car for a breakfast of kings!" As the statement began to set in, the players started to feel a sickening hunger wash over all of them.

"Food," was all Mona could moan as she crawled out of bed and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Oh my," said Anderson, taking an awkward step back. He prodded her on the shoulder lightly. "Um, are you well enough to make it to the dining car?"

Mona suddenly sprung up with a smile. "Of course! Now come on guys, let's get some food before I start craving calamari!"

Anderson gave her a horrified look and backed up farther. "Players! You heard the woman, let's get going!" he said urgently before scurrying out of the compartment.

The players first passed quietly through several other sleeping compartments. Like their own, they had cozy wooden walls with a few plain designs on them. Each window was bordered by velvet curtains of varying colors (the players' room contained curtains colored exemption-green). The rooms all had six beds with brass posts and white, silk sheets. As the door at the end of the last sleeping car opened, a pleasant tune, perhaps better fit for an elevator, fluttered into the ears of the players. It was calming with a hint of tropical flair, something that fit quite nicely with the blue wave-patterned wallpaper that covered the top half of the walls in the new compartment they found themselves in. The bottom of the walls were still covered with the wood from the sleeping compartments, providing a smooth transition between the two settings.

Anderson pointed towards the sets of wooden booths with red cushions that lined the sides of the walkways. "This is a sitting room," he explained. "It's here for the purpose of chillaxing for those who either don't have a bed or don't want to spend their day in bed." The next compartment contained several dark green couches bolted to the floor, as well as some large TVs. "And here's a television room for anyone who can't stand missing their favorite soap operas."

"What sort of channels does it get?" asked Mallow, staring longingly at the luxurious pieces of technology.

"Just the news and soap opera channels," replied Anderson. "Blame budget cuts."

When they passed through the next door, the players had seemingly walked into a 60s diner. Both the floor and bottom half of the wall were made up of checkered tiles. On either side of the car were black and red booths with silvery tables. In the front of the car was a long counter lined with stools and the whole area was lined with red neon lights. After each player ordered a meal up at the counter, he led them to a booth.

"How do you like the Cactuar Express?" asked the host, gesturing to the train around them.

"It's pretty chill!" Mona said happily. She suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Suspiciously chill. Anderson, you're not planning to blow up the train are you?"

"I don't think I could handle that," Toadiko said shakily.

"Oh no, of course not!" chuckled Anderson. "We could never afford to wreck this train! I mean, we would if we could, but sadly this train is far too expensive to use for my destructive urges." He looked around the room and sighed deeply. Ignoring the horrified looks he received from Mallow and Toadiko, Anderson went on to the next topic. "Anywho, I'm sure you would like to know about the state of our journey, wouldn't you?"

"Indeed," replied Shy Guy, attempting to stretch out in the cramped booth. "We're heading to Molehill Isle, right?"

Anderson nodded. "Correct, that will be our final destination," he said in an official tone. "It's off of the southeastern coast of the Yell-Yell desert, which, in case you were unaware, is very far from Aguatario. If we were to continue at the pace of last round, it would take over a week to get there! So, to speed things up, we'll be taking this train straight to the capital of the Yell-Yell region."

Everyone cheered loudly at this news, startling a few passengers sitting in the other booths. "So how long will it take to get there?" asked Timpani.

"We'll arrive in three days," replied Anderson. "Three days of free travel. What do you think of that, players?"

"I know I like it!" chirped Mona with glee. "So what's the name of this capital and how far is it from the coast?"

"You've got to be kidding!" snapped Toadiko. "Do you really not know the capital of one of the kingdom's major regions?" She crossed her arms and huffed. "The things people don't know…"

"I'd just like to point out that until a few days ago, practically none of us knew anything about this desert," said Shy Guy. "I'm pretty sure some of us didn't even know of its existence."

"Good point, Shy Guy," said the host, nodding. "The capital is known as Villepario, which translates to 'place of rest'."

Mona shuddered. "Sounds like some kind of huge graveyard!"

Anderson chuckled at Mona's nervousness. "Actually, perhaps the best translation wouldn't be 'rest', but 'vacation'. Villepario is filled to the brim with beachside resorts, luxurious golf courses, and anything else a vacationer could want. Due to the barrier of the Yell-Yell desert, it's not frequently visited by Mushroom Kingdomers (hence why most of you haven't heard of it), but it's a hotspot for foreigners, so you'll be hearing English, Shroomish, and countless other languages there."

"It sounded wonderful up until the language barrier part," commented Mona, sliding low in her seat.

"I feel like we've coped with the barrier surprisingly well," said Mallow brightly. "I doubt it will be too much of a problem!"

"That's the spirit!" said Anderson with a grin.

"Wow," began Toadiko, shifting the topic slightly. "So this round we're on a nice train and next round we go to a resort town, this seems too easy!"

The players stared expectantly at Anderson for a few moments before the host gave them a confused "what?" and raised his eyebrows.

"Aren't you going to tell us that it's only getting harder from here and then give us a challenge?" asked Shy Guy. "That's sort of your modus operandi."

"Nah," said Anderson, shrugging. "Right now I'd like to get some breakfast, challenges can wait." He then looked each player in the eye mischievously and began to cackle oddly as the waiter approached with their meals.

* * *

The players decided to use their newfound free time to do some much-needed writing in their journals while the producers pulled them aside for interviews. Some players sat alone and scribbled diligently and others scurried from player to player in their quiet manner.

_Shy Guy:__ How do I think I'm doing? I don't feel obligated to answer that question. It's pretty simple to deduce how I'm doing because making it to this point in the game isn't simply a result of good luck, clearly I either have a good idea of what I'm doing or I'm the Mole. Got it?_

_Mona:__ I used to have a main subject with a couple of minor subjects, but I think I've narrowed it down to two primary subjects. Evidently my guesses are getting narrower and narrower so hopefully I'll be able to pinpoint that stupid Mole and clobber them! Figuratively of course._

_Timpani:__ My primary suspect may have been executed, but I have other suspects. I've been digging through my journal to determine which of them is the most likely to be the Mole. I'm quite confident that I'll be able to trump the Mole._

_Mallow:__ I've locked onto two suspects at this point. I think that the Mole will have to make a big move in the coming challenges, so I'll use them to choose which suspect to reeeally focus on. I'll also try to get some information off of the others if possible._

_Toadiko:__ Well, I have one main suspect with a backup, so chances are I'm either exactly right or completely wrong. Seeing that I survived the last execution, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that I'm not completely wrong. I mean, Wolley could have been more wrong, but somehow I doubt that._

Mona slammed her journal shut with a groan. "Well my journal is full!" she announced. The other players gave her tiny, impressed claps.

"A winner is you," muttered Shy Guy in monotone. "Filled mine up yesterday," he added casually.

Mona playfully tossed her journal at Shy Guy. "You're kidding! I've been told I write like a maniac and yet here I am, a day behind you!"

"I'll probably finish tomorrow," commented Timpani, not looking up from her notes. "Perhaps writing like a _maniac_ is unique to you, but getting this much information down is probably what got us all to the final five."

Mallow chuckled lightly. "Sick burn! But yeah, you have a point, I'll probably have mine filled by the end of this episode." He paused for a moment before slamming his book shut. "But for now, I've written all that I can," he announced.

"Did you include the part about you being the Mole?" asked Shy Guy, grinning at him amusedly.

"Maybe once or twice in all the stuff against you," replied Mallow, returning the grin.

"Lies, all lies!" proclaimed Mona, pointing an accusatory finger towards the two players in question. "Clearly you are forgetting the fact that I, Mona Martin, am clearly the Mole!" There was a brief period of silence until Mona spoke up again. "Um, isn't this supposed to be the moment where Toadiko or Timpani jokes that they're the Mole?"

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that information," Toadiko muttered from her journal. "Shy Guy," she began, changing the topic. "You said you filled your journal, so how are you writing in it now?"

"Way to kill the joyous mood," sighed Shy Guy. "But to answer your question, I got a second one from Anderson."

"Did someone say Anderson?" asked the squid in question, bursting into the room. Predictably, he met the players' startled jumps with a wicked grin. "I couldn't help but overhear you talk about needing new journals, so I went ahead and brought new journals for all of you!" He handed out journals that were identical to the players' old ones, with the exception of a "2" following their names on the cover. "Now then, feel free to write a ton!" he said quickly as he stepped back out of the room.

As the players looked between each other, a feeling of uneasiness began to settle on the group. They each took count of how many times Anderson being helpful had ended up well for them and the number turned out to be frightfully low and it was only getting lower as the episodes went on. After a couple minutes, however, each player found themselves writing once again. The game's necessity had won over their nerves.

* * *

A while later, around noon in fact, Anderson burst back into the sitting room, once again startling the players. "Players, drop everything and come with me!" he said with a sense of urgency. The players immediately complied, following him back through the train.

"So what's so urgent that we needed to rush out like that?" asked Toadiko worriedly as she pushed to the front of the players.

"You'll see," Anderson said mysteriously, reaffirming Toadiko's fears. He silently led the players through car after car until he pushed open one final set of doors to reveal…

"Lunch!" Anderson announced happily, making a grand gesture into the retro diner they had eaten breakfast in.

"That's it?" cried Mallow. "Just lunch? No challenges or surprise executions?" He looked into the diner skeptically.

"Nope!" said Anderson, waltzing in towards a booth. "What would make you think that?" Mallow opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. "Anyways," continued Anderson. "You guys _did_ leave your journals back there." He trailed off after that last statement, letting the significance of that statement sink in.

"What are you going to do to my journals" Shy Guy asked frightfully. "That information is private you know." As he came to the end of his sentence, his eyes began to lower to a glare.

"It's private when we want it to be private," corrected Anderson. "There is no privacy on television!" He stated to cackle wildly, but quickly stopped and awkwardly cleared his throat. "So guys, let's order some lunch!"

"I," began Mona reluctantly. "I can deal with that," she finally said, taking a seat.

"You all seem so worried," said Anderson confusedly once everyone had sat down. "Can someone explain to me what's wrong?"

"We've been expecting a challenge," explained Shy Guy, his face buried in a menu, effectively muffling his voice.

"You haven't exactly been waiting long to give us a challenge every time we arrive at a new location," said Timpani. She abandoned the napkin origami she was constructing in favor of getting answers. "Now, not only have we been here for a while, but you also have likely commandeered our journals, so why don't you just do us a favor and tell us what our challenge is going to be."

Anderson grinned mischievously at her. "Alright then, I challenge you to pour salt in your drink and drink it!"

"That's not what I meant!" snapped Timpani, tapping her foot impatiently. "I mean a challenge for coins!"

Anderson reached into his pocket and pulled out two blue coins. "I'll give you ten coins if you drink a glass of salt water," he insisted, plopping the coins onto the table.

"Gah!"

_Timpani:__ There's just something about Anderson's attitude at lunch that really got to me. It was like he was… Ah! It was like he was channeling Wolley! That toad's attitude is going to haunt me for the rest of the game isn't it?_

The host turned to Mona, whom awkwardly paused, salt shaker in hand. "Mona, please don't. That was a joke."

"Drat!" snapped Mona, slamming the salt shaker down.

"Why would you care about ten coins when so much more is on the line?" asked Mallow, who had been watching the conversation from his seat at the edge of the booth.

"Because I'm the Mole and I'm not gonna earn any of that money," snickered Mona, eyeing the coins.

Anderson quickly snatched his coins back from the table. "Are you now?" he asked, interested. "Then why would you tell us that?"

"Oh no, I guess I'm not the Mole then," Mona said, shrugging.

"I'll be keeping you on my list of suspects," said Anderson, nobody could quite tell if he was serious.

* * *

Around three thirty in the afternoon, the players had settled down in one of the TV rooms near the sleeping cars. Some of them made idle chatter, while others were zoned out in a dreamy stupor. The mood had become so relaxed among the players that Anderson's inevitable loud entrance startled them far more than usual.

"Challenge!" cried Mona with fright, spazzing out a bit.

"No!" insisted Anderson. "Calm down! You people have an obsession!" He rubbed his head as if he had a headache. "But, if you really want me to mix things up, I have something for you." His mood suddenly brightened as he revealed ten books that were in his possession. Each book had duct tape plastered over their covers, but each player knew what they were.

"Journals. Give," demanded Shy Guy, reaching out towards the pile.

Anderson quickly moved the books out of arms' reach of the players. "Not so fast! You're not getting them back quite yet!"

"We have to compete in a challenge to get them back, don't we?" asked Toadiko, subtly edging towards the host in an attempt to retrieve her books.

"No!" snapped the host angrily. "Next person to ask about a challenge will get 2,000 coins deducted from the pot!" The players' mouths snapped shut. "Thank you," sighed Anderson, calming down. "You will get them back soon enough, but first I'd like to read you something," he began. A grin began to creep up his face as he spoke. "Actually I'd like to read you a few excerpts from a few books." He slowly held out the books once again, much to the horror of the players.

"You're going to read them to all of us?" gasped Timpani. She paused for a moment, thinking what she had written and shuddered. "Please don't," she begged quietly.

"And the best part is that, as I loudly explained, this isn't a challenge, so you have nothing to gain other than gossip!" the host said with an evil grin as he juggled the books from tentacle to tentacle.

"The best part?" snapped Toadiko. "So what you're telling us is this is pointless?"

"Depends," said Anderson, shrugging. "I think you may find some of this very interesting. But not this first entry, I'm sure you know it very well by now."

As Anderson began to flip open one of the books, Toadiko leapt forward, crying "No!"

Anderson casually stepped out of range of the raging toad and began reading.

_I swear this game is pure terror! It seems only to be lightly veiled by a façade of education and wisdom, covering the true nature of this game. This game, uhg, if I had to judge it simply by my actions today then I would deem it horrendous. But on the subject of actions, I find Shy Guy's to be the strangest. The man is too cautious to allow that._

"Interesting," mused Shy Guy, deep in thought. Toadiko looked over at him with a sheepish grin.

"That's some rather interesting insight," said Anderson, tossing Toadiko's journals onto a booth. The toad made a grab for them, but Anderson quickly stopped her. "Not yet. For now, let's read Mallow's journal!" He flipped to a marked page and began reading.

_Players separated in this episode, therefore easy to sabotage. It's likely Mole was subtle though to avoid suspicion of partner. Three rounds were at least partially failed: puzzles and mazes, cooking, and coins. Players who took most obvious blame: Timpani, Wolley, and Mona. From what I've heard, each had the most obvious role in the duos' failures and vaguely confessed. Not very Mole-like. Conclusion: add suspicion to Shy Guy, Toadiko, and Monty._

"Well we know at least one of those was wrong," commented Toadiko. "That's a bit of a strange analysis though." She scratched her head, clearly a bit confused.

"Says the suspect," retorted Mona with a triumphant chuckle.

"Says the _obvious_ suspect," countered Anderson with a smug look on his face. "Now then, let us all listen to Shy Guy's journal. Oh I like this one!"

_There are times where I can't tell if a player is being crazy or stupid. It's like every single twinge of emotion sends them into a flurry of hellfire and an assault of assumptions. Let me tell you this folks, just because people are assholes doesn't make them the Mole! I mean yeah, the Mole is almost definitely part-asshole, but it's not the sole indicator! It seems to me that these moments of emotional explosiveness make everyone forget that the Mole is a being made of cleverness. Perhaps I'll use this to my advantage._

_Mallow:__ Well._

_Toadiko:__ That._

_Timpani:__ Was._

_Mona:__ Harsh!_

Shy Guy looked between his fellow players nervously. "Um, about that, guys," he said awkwardly.

"Real classy beginning," Anderson said sarcastically as he tossed Shy Guy's journals into the pile. "Would anyone care to comment?" The players shook their heads. "I guess I'll be reading Mona's then!"

_Conveniently enough, it seems like the Mole doesn't need to do their job. It's like sometimes there are challenges where the outcome doesn't actually matter (usually they're practically impossible) and their only point is to get to our heads. I need to make sure I keep my sanity for the rest of the game. The saner I am, easier it will be for me to take everyone else down. Maybe the Mole is aiding in the insanity? Wolley has clearly caused the most insanity. Reason's to follow, as well as explanations for the others:_

"And then there's a few pages of notes detailed enough that I think I'll let her keep them to herself as a little reward," finished Anderson. Mona smiled brightly at him and voiced her thanks.

"It's like you're speaking in abstracts at first and then just have all the evidence ever," commented Mallow. "That's… intimidating."

"Quite," muttered Timpani. "I suppose we're doing mine next, correct?" she quickly asked.

Anderson nodded. "Indeed, let's take a look at the last entry!"

_While I believe I am quite capable of finishing this game on my own, it's been quite startling to realize that I will not be able to rely on anyone, even if I trust them. I'm not a fan of these executions and their terminology is a bit startling. Obviously its purpose is to mess with our heads, but the scary thing is that it's working. I generally find myself immune to psych games and indeed in what little time we've had here I've found that to be true, but this is not a pleasant element of the game._

Before anyone could comment, Anderson suddenly began grabbing journals and violently tearing the duct tape off of the covers (miraculously not tearing any of the covers themselves). "Here, have them back before Toadiko can attack me!" he announced, throwing the journals to the awaiting arms of the players. "Please, take note of what you've heard in this room. I'll be back at precisely 4:30, so don't go too far!"

* * *

Anderson's warning combined with the incredibly relaxed mood that developed in the room allowed for the host to enter at precisely 4:30 without startling anyone.

"Oh hey Anderson," Mona said casually. "So what do you have in store for us?"

"Well players, I think you'll be very happy about this, because you've been asking me for it all day" he said, the evilest smile he'd had that day growing on his face. "I'd like to tell you all about your next challenge!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Perhaps you may been as curious about the next challenge as the players were because, if I'm not mistaken, this is the very first chapter (and probably the last) that doesn't contain a challenge, execution, or exemption. I think this is partially a personal response to Episode 5 Part 4 which contained almost half of a massive challenge, a morality challenge, moving to a new location, and part of another challenge. Yeah I felt that one was overstuffed, so I guess this polar opposite makes up for it in my mind. This chapter also reflects the mood of this episode. There will definitely be challenges and in fact more money will be on the line than ever, but there will be a lot more hanging around and regular interactions between characters. Think of it as one last rest before we hit endgame. **

**Anywho, let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review, I really appreciate it!**

**~Vivalahomestar**


	23. Group of Gumshoes

**Author's Note: Well this is awkward... Let's just go ahead and get into excuses for this 5 month hiatus. Writer's block, school got intense, causing me to not be able to focus on hobbies and then forget partially about them, school didn't get out until three weeks ago, and then I was on vacation, and lastly I've been working on some non-writing projects.**

**Regardless, I shouldn't have left this story for so long. I seem to forget how much I've loved writing it, but every time I come back and read it I remember. So here's hoping this summer will bring a massive number of updates!**

_Episode 6 Part 2_

"Oh hey Anderson," Mona said casually. "So what do you have in store for us?"

"Well players, I think you'll be very happy about this, because you've been asking me for it all day" he said, the evilest smile he'd had that day growing on his face. "I'd like to tell you all about your next challenge!"

The players stared at him, dumbfounded. "Real funny, Anderson," said Toadiko, chuckling nervously.

Anderson cackled madly. "I know, right? Hilarious! Now why don't we go ahead and split you guys up?" His tone was jolly with a hint of sternness.

Toadiko's heart fell. "I guess we really are having a challenge now. Alright, what do you have in store for us?"

"In thirty seconds, please choose two people who are good at communicating, two people good with technology, and one person who's intense," instructed the host. "Your time starts… now!"

"If we must communicate with anyone, they likely will speak Shroomish, so I say Toadiko and Timpani take that role," Shy Guy immediately suggested. Neither one protested so he moved on. "Mona, if you haven't realized this already, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but you're quite intense, so you should take that role."

Mona giggled slightly. "I knew that, Shy Guy!" she chirped.

"That leaves us with technology," said Mallow. "I handle some tech back at the weather station, so it won't be a problem for me."

"Sweet, I think we have it," said Shy Guy with a grin.

"And with a second to spare!" commended Anderson. "So it will be Toadiko and Timpani communicating, Shy Guy and Mallow using technology, and Mona being intense?" Each player nodded. "Well I suppose I should give you the backstory then," he said. He took off his green beanie and began to twirl it distractedly as he spoke. "There's something I haven't told you about this episode," he admitted. "Oh boy," sighed Mallow. "Here comes the twist!"

"We've been transporting some… precious cargo on the train with us," Anderson said delicately. "In fact, they were five bags of precious jewels, each worth 10,000 coins. For each one that makes it safely to Villepario will earn you all its value, up to 50,000 coins in total. Now of course, if something were to happen to any of them, you'd lose money."

"Would it be reasonable to assume that something has happened to the jewels?" asked Timpani with a sigh.

"It would be very reasonable," said the host with a nod. "At approximately 1:00 pm today, three of the bags have been stolen, and even though we don't know whom the thief is, we have pin-pointed the car he or she is in. Of course, somebody needs to go in there and find out who it was, but since we're short on policemen, we're left with you five to do the investigating."

"Yikes, does anyone here have any investigative experience?" Mona pondered the thought for a moment as she drew her hands up, miming shooting a gun.

"I've played a cop," said Shy Guy with a shrug.

"Ah yes, I recall that. Detective Gumshoe in Koopa Kops, correct?" asked the host in a tone one would use with a colleague.

"Yup." Shy Guy simply sat there, evidently unaware of the wishes for him to elaborate.

"Yeeeah, anywho," continued Anderson awkwardly. "You'll have two hours to get a confession out of the culprit. First, the communicators will talk to everyone in the culprit's car and take notes on the suspects. Next, our two techies will be reviewing security camera footage to find two suspects that our intense player will interrogate and hopefully find the true culprit. You may split the time however you want, but make sure Mona has enough time to get a confession… if Mallow and Shy Guy choose the right people that is."

"Oh no," gasped Toadiko. She twiddled her thumbs nervously. "That's a whole lot of pressure on us."

_Mona:__ Each spot in this challenge has huge potential for messing up. If only we had thought about this a bit more. Hm, maybe Shy Guy chose the roles quickly on purpose…_

"Follow me," Anderson said ominously. He slowly led them through the various cars of the train until he came to a stop in front of a grey door. "Now before I let Toadiko and Timpani in there, I should let you know the stakes. As stated before, the thief has taken three bags of jewels, making this challenge worth 30,000 coins."

"Not too bad," said Mallow with a slight grin.

"That's not all," said Anderson. Mallow's face fell. "We have police waiting at the town of Orangarst. Should you catch the thief, they'll arrest him or her. However, if you pick the wrong guy, you five will be spending a night in jail for obstruction of justice."

"J-jail?" gasped Mallow, putting his hands over his mouth.

"Obstruction of…" muttered Shy Guy woefully.

"Justiiiiiice?" screamed Mona, her arms flailing about.

"Heh heh," snickered Anderson. "I hope you guys are good at investigating!" He flung open the door and held out two notebooks. "Use these to take your notes," he instructed before allowing Toadiko and Timpani in.

The room inside was a sitting room like the players had been in only a few minutes prior. There were three wooden booths on each side of the isle, each covered with red cushions. There were ten passengers occupying the car. The front two booths each held lone passengers, but the other four had two sitting together. Timpani immediately made a mental note of the two lone passengers.

"Your two hours begins now!" announced Anderson, slamming the door shut.

Toadiko and Timpani quickly scanned the seats. There was a Koopa and a Goomba, a Paratroopa and a Dry Bones, a Chain Chomp and a Chargin Chuck, a beanish man and a Toad, a Luma, and a Snifit. Each one looked suspicious in their own way, but no one in particular stood out.

"Does anyone in this car speak English?" asked Timpani loudly and clearly. The passengers stared back at her confusedly. Timpani sighed. "I sure hope I can remember all the Shroomish I learned," she muttered to herself. "Wubdelk Shroomish, mole?" she asked. There were an overwhelming number of affirming "Ska!"s from the crowd.

The rest of Toadiko and Timpani's part, being an important part of the challenge, would later be subtitled for the English-speaking audiences, signified with brackets.

"[Alright then,]" Toadiko shouted loudly in Shroomish. "[I'd like for everyone to cooperate while Mrs. Bleck and I talk to you!]" She approached the Koopa and Goomba with a serious expression on her face. "[Could you two tell me exactly what you were doing at 1:00 pm today?]"

"[What ridiculousness!]" snapped the Koopa, crossing his arms crossly. "[You can't just go asking me what I was-.]" He suddenly noticed Toadiko scribbling notes down in her notebook. "[Woah, woah, what are you writing in there? Listen lady, I'm not a crook! I'll talk!]"

Toadiko smirked. "That's what I thought," she muttered to herself.

"[So me and this guy were talking about our jobs,]" began the Koopa, motioning to the Goomba. "[And he talked about getting free sodas at that job, which made me have the thirst of the desert, so I went in search of sodas. This guy was in the exact same spot when I returned, he claims he doesn't move much, isn't that right?]"

The Goomba slowly shifted his gaze towards Toadiko and gave a hefty chuckle that seemed to shake the air around him. "[They say I am one with the ground,]" he grunted. "[A man of the sand, a cactus, if you comprehend what I'm saying.]" He had a glint in his eye when he spoke, as if daring the native English speaker to decipher his phrases.

"[Sir, I don't mean to be rude, but are you implying that you're lazy?]" Toadiko replied with a level head. "[Unless those phrases mean something else where you come from,]" she added in a snarky tone.

The Goomba gave his bold chuckle once again. "[Oh yes, very lazy! I let my Koopa friend here go get a soda for me, contrary to courtesy while I stayed here, others can vouch for me if you wish.]"

"[That should be fine. I thank you two!]" Toadiko said with a bow.

Meanwhile, Timpani was talking to the Chain Chomp and Chargin Chuck. "[Well I was asleep until two this afternoon,]" admitted the Chain Chomp. Her voice was deep and cool in a way that intimidated Timpani. "[I was up very late last night working on important business matters, so I spent the morning and early afternoon catching up on sleep.]"

Timpani paused for a moment. "[Could you perhaps tell me what sort of business it was?]" she asked carefully.

"[None of yours! That's what business it was!]" barked the Chain Chomp defensively. Timpani backed off nervously.

"[Don't worry about her,]" the Chargin Chuck said reassuringly. "[I can assure you that she was indeed asleep. As for me, I stayed in here all through midday. Well I think I left for the bathroom once, but that was it.]"

Timpani nodded gratefully. "[I thank you for your cooperation.]"

Toadiko went to the next seat to talk to the Dry Bones and Paratroopa. "[Excuse me, could you tell me what you were doing at exactly 1:00 pm today?]"

"[That's tough to recall,]" said the Paratroopa in a nasally voice. "[I'm pretty sure I was just sitting here, listening to music. I didn't do much else.]"

"[I didn't see him leave at all,]" defended the Dry Bones. "[Well, when I was in here at least. I left for a little while to pace and think. Got some parts of my love life that need straightening up and I gotta think about that stuff, you know?]"

"[Of course,]" replied Toadiko. "Too much information," she muttered to herself. "[So you weren't in here for a while today?]"

"[Well yes, but I didn't steal anything!]" snapped the Dry Bones, his bones rattling furiously. "[I never went that far! Others saw me when they passed by. Just ask the Goomba back there!]"

"[Alright, I shall consid- wait, that Goomba?]" Toadiko attempted to hide her shock as she slowly pulled out her notebook.

"[Yeah, I'm pretty sure I saw him come my way. Unless it was another Goomba. I'm not too sure if it was him, but it probably was.]" The Dry Bones shrugged, his bones scraping together as he did so.

Meanwhile, Timpani was interviewing the Toad and beanish man. "[You really believe I'd be out stealing jewels when there's this jewel of a desert to stare out at?]" cried the Toad animatedly. "[I mean, look. At. That!]" He forcefully pointed towards the windows with each word.

"[I understand, sir. I thank you for your cooperation,]" Timpani said with a sigh. "[And what about you, sir?]"

"[I slipped off to the caboose to get some fresh air and escape this guy's babbling,]" the beanish man said, casting an irritated glance over at the Toad who grinned sheepishly. "[Now, I know that sounds suspicious, but I didn't return until you goons were already storming this car. I'll leave you with this: if they traced the thief back to here, the thief must have returned here before they showed up, right? I never did.]"

Timpani was very intrigued by this and made sure to write everything she heard in her notebook. "[I thank you very much for this information, perhaps it can be used to clear your name.]" She grinned to herself and moved on to her last passenger.

"[So I need to give you an alibi?]" asked the Snifit as she approached.

"[Only if you have one,]" replied Timpani with a shrug.

"[I was just sitting here playing some video games. Honestly, I never left, I had levels to grind!]" insisted the Snifit.

Timpani was utterly confused by the Shroomish word for "grind" and took a few seconds to process the message otherwise. "Playing games," she muttered as she took notes. "[Alright, is there anything else you need to mention?]"

"[I don't think so,]" replied the Snifit with a shrug.

At about the same moment Timpani finished talking to the Toad, Toadiko made her way over to the Luma. "[Hello,]" the Luma said calmly. His voice was nearly at a whisper and Toadiko needed to strain her ears to see it.

"[Could you please tell me what you were doing at 1:00 today?]" Toadiko asked pleasantly.

"[I sure can,]" muttered the Luma. "[I was just laying here on the seat, texting my girlfriend. I suppose I would have gone and explored the train, but Andromeda and I haven't seen each other in weeks, so all I wanted to do was talk to her!]"

"[That's very sweet,]" Toadiko replied warmly as she wrote what she had heard down.

"Alright Toadiko, I've interviewed my half, are you ready to go?" called Timpani over the noise of the passengers.

"Hold on!" replied Toadiko, taking half a minute to look over her notes and make some final scribbles. She was about to get up when a final idea came to her head. "[Sir, did you see the Goomba at the front of the car get up around one?]" she asked the Luma.

The Luma pondered this for a moment. "[I don't think so, nope,]" he replied quietly.

Toadiko stood up. "[I thank you, sir!]" She then turned to Timpani. "Alright, let's go!" The two players strolled out of the car and up to Anderson, who was now alone.

"Have you two finished your interviews?" he asked. Timpani and Toadiko nodded silently. "Alrighty! Well everyone else is in place, I'll just take your notebooks…" He snatched the books from the girls' hands and quickly pocketed them. "Your part of the challenge took half an hour, so go ahead and wait here for the next hour and a half," he said before swiftly exiting the room.

* * *

Mallow and Shy Guy sat in a barren, windowless room. The only objects on the cold metal floor were two folding chairs and a wooden table that contained a laptop. Said laptop was providing the only light in the room until Anderson burst in, blinding the two players with light from the outside world.

Shy Guy groaned and pulled his hood over his mask. "My eyes," he muttered.

Anderson dropped the two notebooks down onto the table along with two pens. "Look through these notes to find points of interest," he instructed. The host then leaned down towards the computer and entered a few passwords. A video editing program popped into the screen. The display window showed a shot of the suspect's train car, but it was small and blurry. "If you can figure out how to work this software then you can look through the footage and take some notes of your own to give to Mona. Try to be quick, there's an hour and a half left and Mona will need some time."

"We got this!" said Mallow. His voice was cheerful, but there was a hint of nervousness to it.

"I hope you do," Anderson said grimly before exiting and loudly slamming the door.

The two players turned their attention to the monitor. The low-quality footage was taking up the upper-right quarter of the screen and directly under that was a little progress bar showing what time they were looking at. With the exception of a small logo in the upper-left corner, the rest of the screen was blank and grey.

"Well this is crap!" declared Mallow, raising his hands in defeat.

"Who even designed this software?" asked Shy Guy bewilderedly. He spotted the green logo in the corner of the screen. "Andersoft… well this is bad." He placed his hand on the mousepad and attempted to move the cursor, but nothing happened. "This is really bad."

"Maybe we could try the escape key," Mallow suggested, reaching for said key.

Shy Guy smacked the nimbian's hand away. "For all we know, that could shut down the program!" he snapped. "Let's try F1, that's the universal help key after all." He clicked the key and a black box with the words "Playback Mode" appeared next to the video.

"Okay, so I guess we need to get out of this mode," said Mallow. He gave the mostly blank screen a quizzical look. "I bet we can't do anything while the video's playing."

"Alright then, I guess we need to find the unpause key," said Shy Guy with a shrug. He tried tapping enter with no success, but the spacebar brought better luck, bringing the footage to a screeching halt. Two unlabeled sliders appeared to the left of the video, both were set to the middle. Mallow turned the first slider all the way up, which made the video grow to take up two-thirds of the screen. He slid the next one all the way up as well, but doing so made the video impossible to make out.

"Yikes, I guess this slider makes the film grittier," said Mallow with a shrug. He clicked on the slider and dragged his mouse to the left, but the slider didn't follow. "Gah, it won't go down!" cried the nimbian panickedly. "I can't make out anything on there now, can you?" Shy Guy just shook his head and stared intensely at the screen. Mallow started hurriedly mashing keys, blurting "One of these keys has gotta do the trick!"

Shy Guy smacked Mallow's hand away from the keyboard once again. "Stop hitting keys!" he ordered angrily. "I don't know why you're so trusting of this program. Anderson probably booby-trapped it."

"Sorry!" squeaked Mallow, withdrawing his hands.

Shy Guy began fiddling with what little they had discovered. He first restarted the video and attempted to move the now invisible slider, but that had no effect. "Maybe..." he muttered to himself, stopping the video and moving the cursor over to the size slider. He shrunk the video all the way and then attempted to move the quality slider to the left. "Got it!" he cheered. Fortunately, he was able to make the video large once again, making it perfectly viewable.

"Good job man!" chirped Mallow happily. "Though," he suddenly narrowed his eyes, "that seemed awfully tricky, I'm surprised you figured it out so quickly!"

"I'm not the Mole," grunted Shy Guy. "Now quit being moley by distracting me and watch the video," he ordered. Mallow shut his mouth, shot Shy Guy a suspicious look, and started watching the film.

_Mallow:__ Shy Guy was reeeally quick to shut down my claim. He didn't even bother giving good evidence against it!_

The timestamp on the video let the players know they were looking at film from half an hour before the gems were stolen. "I guess we should watch up until 1:00," suggested Mallow.

"Good idea," agreed Shy Guy. "Hopefully Mona will have enough time after that. The actor began to flip through Toadiko and Timpani's notes. "The Dry Bones and Beanish man are both gone, as they said. Personally, I don't suspect the Beanish man. His explanation makes sense."

"And that was?" asked Mallow expectantly.

"He didn't return until right before we showed up. It's highly unlikely that a thief would have been pin-pointed to that car by then if he had just come back then," explained Shy Guy, occasionally looking down at the notebooks.

"Eh, I wouldn't completely count him out," said Mallow. "I mean, if he comes back before one then he's a definite suspect, right?"

"Yeah, good point," said Shy Guy, making a mental note.

A few minutes later, Mallow perked up. "The Goomba's getting up!" he exclaimed.

Shy Guy immediately snatched up the journals and flipped through. "He claimed he never got up," he said ominously. Shy Guy flipped around for a second and noted, "the Dry Bones said he was out too."

"I definitely don't trust this guy," said Mallow, casting a suspicious look down at the screen. "This guy should definitely be one of our two suspects!"

"Noted!" replied Shy Guy with a grin.

Minutes after that they saw the Chargin Chuck get up. "He mentioned going to the ballroom, weird," muttered Mallow, who was now looking at the journals.

"Strange," muttered Shy Guy. "Are you sure that's what it says?"

"I'm pretty su- no wait maybe not! Gah, Timpani's handwriting is nearly illegible," complained Mallow.

Shy Guy chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I think she needs a translator," he said with a little grin. "And don't get me started on Toadiko's writing!"

"I'm not even sure how either of us deciphered it!" admitted Mallow. "Seems like a bit of a time-waster actually," he began to trail off.

"I wish I had my journal," muttered Shy Guy, suspicions flying through his head.

After a moment Mallow spoke up again. "Looks like the Chargin Chuck actually said bathroom, not ballroom. I'd say he's the second most suspicious at the moment, though bathroom is a bit less suspicious than ballroom."

"So right now it's Goomba and Chargin Chuck, with Dry Bones not suspicious enough for the list," muttered Shy Guy.

When the timestamp reached ten minutes to one, the duo caught an interesting site. "What's that light?" asked Shy Guy.

Mallow leaned over to the screen and saw a ball of light creeping across the camera. "Looks like glare from the sun," he said doubtfully.

Shy Guy slammed his finger down onto the space bar, pausing the video right before the light left the screen. It appeared to be in a slight star shape. "Is that the Luma?" he gasped. The two strained their eyes at the seat the Luma had occupied for the whole video. He had always been tucked away in the corner and was often impossible to see. "I don't think he's there," Shy Guy decided.

"You think he's our crook?" Mallow gasped. He flipped through Toadiko's notebook. "Toadiko said he was a nice guy." He paused for a moment and furrowed his brow. "At least I think she wrote that, it's hard to tell."

"Let me see," muttered Shy Guy, snatching the notebook. "Yeah, she did, but she also said he claimed not to have left. This guy's gotta be our other suspect."

Mallow looked a bit doubtful still. "We're not even sure if that's him though. How about we put him on the list if we see him come back by 1:05, then I'll be convinced."

"Sounds fair I guess," said Shy Guy with a shrug. He hit the space bar once again and started the film. At the exact moment the timestamp reached 1:00 they saw a tiny, light figure slide through the door and under several seats. Shy Guy turned to Mallow. "You can't deny that that thing is sentient," he stated bluntly.

Mallow nodded. "I can't! That guy's definitely suspicious," he admitted.

"Then we should probably get going," said the actor, jumping out of his chair.

"Yeah! Mona's waiting!" agreed Mallow, jumping up. "She's got a Goomba or a Luma to catch!"

* * *

Anderson led Mona into one of the sitting rooms, which was populated only by the Goomba and Luma from the train car. Anderson stepped in behind the player and closed the door. "Well, here are the potential scoundrels!" he announced, motioning to the two. "You have 35 minutes to get a confession"

Mona stomped up to the two, a crazed look in here eyes. "Alright you two, which one of you scumbags stole the jewels?" she shouted at them. The suspects just looked up at her confusedly, muttering things Mona couldn't understand. After a moment of straining to hear, Mona was suddenly hit by a troubling realization. "Anderson!" she called, whirling around to face the host. "They don't speak English!"

Anderson chuckled for a moment. "For once I'll actually help you out. Any phrase you want me to translate, I will. Sound fair?" Mona happily agreed and the conversation went a little like the following one, though with awkward pauses and Mona butchering pronunciation:

"[Which one of you did it?]" snapped Mona.

"[Did what?]" the Luma asked innocently.

"[You know what, don't play dumb! I know both of you left the train car and then lied about it! One of you stole the jewels!]" Mona replied fiercely.

"[Ma'am I was just getting a soda,]" grumbled the Goomba.

Mona flipped through notes she had been given from both previous groups. "[Says here you made your pal get the sodas,]" she said, walking closer.

"[Jeez fine, I went to the bathroom]" admitted the Goomba grumpily. "[I didn't exactly feel like mentioning that to a stranger.]"

Mona eyed him suspiciously. "[I'm done with you. For now.]" She cast him one last glare before walking over to the Luma. "[Why did _you_ leave then?]"

"[It was the same situation as him,]" the Luma said quietly. "[Just didn't wanna mention going to the bathroom.]"

"Objection!" Mona shouted in English. "[I object!]" she awkwardly translated after a moment. "[My friends saw how you entered and exited the car, that's way too sneaky for somebody using the bathroom!]"

"[Once again, I didn't want strangers to know!]" replied the Luma, clearly growing frustrated. "[That includes people in the compartment!]"

"[Nobody would have known where you were going,]" replied Mona with a smug grin. "[I would have taken that argument if you were floating in the halls, but not in the car where nobody would have known where you were going!]"

"[Listen you word-fumbler, I'm not about to be accused of grand theft because I used my natural powers to move around!]" spat the Luma, completely losing his innocent composure.

Mona, however, remained composed and smug. "[Can I really trust a man who's freaking out? I don't think so.]" She took a step forward, now looming menacingly above him. "[Confess!]" she screamed.

"Alright, fine, I did it!" the Luma suddenly shouted in English.

Mona was taken aback, "You speak English?" she gasped.

"Of course I do!" replied the Luma in a gruff voice. "The Shroomish was all part of an act!"

"[What are they talking about?]" grumbled the Goomba.

"[Don't worry about it, you're free to go,]" replied Anderson. The Goomba lazily hopped up and waddled out. The host then turned his attention to Mona. "Congratulations, Mona! You caught the crook!"

"I guess I gotta give back the loot," sighed the Luma. He did a strange dance in the air, which caused three bags to materialize out of thin air.

"Take that!" Mona cheered victoriously as she snatched the bags.

"Excellent, let's head back to the other players!" announced Anderson.

* * *

"Looks like you guys succeeded," Anderson said once everyone was assembled in the show's sleeping car. He held up the three bags, causing the group to applaud.

"No obstruction of justice for us!" Mallow said cheerfully.

"Plus more money!" Mona said greedily.

"For now," Anderson ominously added.

**129,000 coins**

**plus**

**30,000 coins**

**Result: 159,000 coins**

**Possible: 307,000 coins**

"Can we all just ignore him being ominous for now?" asked Toadiko. "I mean we all know that something bad is going to happen."

Timpani chuckled, "I can do that."

"Fine then," sighed Anderson. "Well then there will be no foreshadowing as I take you all to where you'll be staying for the night." Right as he finished, the train began to lurch to a halt.

_Shy Guy__: I guess he was allowed to keep his crazy perfect timing._

The sand in Orangarst was just as yellow as at Yellast, but the buildings were predictably orange. The architecture had the same short and sturdy structure seen in Yellast, though the buildings took on more rounded shapes. Anderson led the group of five down the dusty main avenue until they reached a building shaped like a wide mushroom.

"This is the Dried Shroom," announced Anderson. "You'll be spending tonight and only tonight here." As the players filed in he called back to them, "I'll be waking you at nine to get ready to leave, be ready!"


	24. Attack of the Zombie Cowboys

_Episode 6 Part 3_

Despite Anderson leaving the players, their day was not done. Finally fed up with Anderson forgetting to give them meals, they braved the town for a decent place to eat. Toadiko, in an attempt to seem in charge in this unfamiliar region, led the way with Mallow and Shy Guy close behind. Mona had been lagging behind when Timpani fell back to meet her.

"So what did you think of that last challenge?" the psychologist quickly began.

"I actually thought it was quite fun!" Mona started happily.

"That's not quite what I meant and I'm sure you're aware of that," Timpani interrupted quietly.

Mona's face suddenly turned serious. "And why ask me of all people?" she replied, her voice sobered.

"You were the only other player in that last challenge who, from what I've heard, didn't commit any suspicious actions," explained Timpani. She cast an accusatory look at the three smaller contestants in front of them.

Mona looked confused over at her fellow human. "Are you saying you trust me?" she asked quizzically, doubt shining in her eyes.

Timpani laughed dryly at that question. "Oh not in the slightest. Don't fool yourself, I'm well aware that I'm trapped in a desert with four individuals, each of whom potentially are out to get me. But with that in mind I think I should take your ideas into account."

"Er, I guess that's a good enough reason," Mona replied doubtfully with a shrug. She cast a quick glance up to the other three players who didn't seem to be paying attention to them. "Alrighty, let's talk!"

"Wonderful," Timpani said with a smile. "While I'll have to get more information at dinner, it sounds like Shy Guy and Mallow both had suspicious actions in their part." Her voice had lowered to a whisper as she mentioned the players' names.

"Eh? I didn't really catch that earlier, what did they do?" asked Mona, thinking back to the notes she received from them.

"It seems that Mallow was very incompetent with the software they were using and Shy Guy was _too_ competent," explained Timpani.

"You'd think Mallow would have been able to understand a basic program," Mona whispered. "It couldn't have been that hard right?"

"Unless it was purposefully hard, in which case Shy Guy was unnaturally smart," replied Timpani. She looked down at the other three. "Though even if that were the case, if Mallow were the Mole it would be easy for him to act innocent there while still messing up."

"Good point, I'm gonna need to ask them about their part," muttered Mona. "Toadiko was also a bit suspicious though."

Timpani raised an eyebrow. "I figured, but I've yet to hear what she's done."

"I got to look at her notes from your part of the challenge and she called somebody a 'nice guy'," she made air quotes as she spoke, "and guess who he turned out to be!" She paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "The culprit himself!"

"Hm, soun-"

"Here's a place!" Toadiko suddenly called, taking the humans out of their conversation with a jolt. Toadiko looked up at the two with a knowing glint in her eye.

Mona looked up at the building's glowing sign. "Goomboss Cookery? Why the fast food joint?" she asked.

"I figured we all need some food we're familiar with, sound good?" explained Toadiko as she reached for the door.

"You have my vote!" cheered Mona, dashing up the steps and completely abandoning her conversation with Timpani, much to the other human's dismay.

The group settled in a corner booth nestled in the back of the restaurant. Once everyone had sat down Shy Guy raised his cup. "I think we all deserve a toast." He paused awkwardly for a moment before proclaiming "to the top half! We've done well."

"Four of us have," corrected Mallow, raising his cup as well.

Mona shrugged. "To the top half!"

After the little toast, Toadiko spoke up. "It's pretty unreal being this far. I mean think about it, over half of us are going to the finale!" There was a bit of silence as that sunk in. Each player looked around, wondering which two players would be the ones to go and the four genuine players desperately hoped it wouldn't be them. The Mole, on the other hand, looked to each player, deciding which one he or she would like to see come to the end. No matter their position, each player knew that the game's ending loomed ever closer each day and it was that thought that kept them up even after returning to their hotel and turning off the lights.

* * *

At precisely seven in the morning Anderson burst into the players' hotel room. "Players, rise and shine!" he shouted urgently. "And make it snappy!" he added.

"Anderson, check your watch, you're two hours early," moaned Mona, barely awake.

"That'd be the case if we weren't facing a monetary emergency!" snapped the host. Hearing that, the players quickly sat up and faced their host.

"What's wrong?" Mallow asked, nervously gripping his bedsheets.

"Remember those five bags of jewels from the train?" Anderson began.

"Well of cou- oh no," sighed Timpani, suddenly realizing what had happened. "Something's happened again hasn't it?"

Anderson nodded grimly. "I was walking through town with the bags when I was jumped by five figures in cowboy outfits and I'm ashamed to say that they managed to take the jewels, all 50,000 worth."

"So we've lost all the money from last challenge?" cried Toadiko, mouth agape. Anderson simply nodded.

**Team Pot: 129,000 coins**

**Possible: 327,000 coins**

"But all is not lost!" he announced. "If you can recover the gems you can not only earn back the 30,000 coins, but secure the other 20,000!"

"But how would we get it back?" Shy Guy wondered. He looked at the host, sure he had an answer.

"We have reason to believe that the thieves are hiding out in the graveyard to the west of town. If you can track them down and retrieve the jewels by 9:00 you'll earn back the money," Anderson explained. "Now get going, players! Time is money!"

The players quickly threw on suitable clothes and shoes and dashed out of the building and down a westward street. It took them about five minutes to reach the edge of town where they found a valley filled with dark mist. As they descended into the valley, their vision grew impaired. While they could still see quite far, anything more than a few feet away turned into a dark figure. The dead trees suddenly became wild shapes reaching out from the fog.

"Are you s-s-sure this is the place?" Mallow whimpered shakily.

"Definitely," sighed Shy Guy as they passed by several gravestones. "Let's press on." The group slowly crept through the valley, each member staying close to one another.

Eventually Timpani motioned for everyone to stop. "Do you all see that in the distance?" she hissed quietly. Straining their eyes, the players could make out five bipedal figures a little ways away. "We should go ahead and run at them," Timpani suggested, keeping her eye on the still figures. "We may still have the element of surprise."

Mona nodded quickly. "I like that plan," she said enthusiastically, but quietly.

"That could work," said Toadiko with a nervous grin.

"I hope we can do this," Mallow said with doubt, but he raised no objections.

Shy Guy gave a simple thumbs up. "Okay," said Timpani. "Let's go!"

The five players charged straight for the figures, preparing to immediately take back their jewels, but upon getting close enough to see the bandits in question all five of them stopped in their tracks and let their jaws hang open. The first figure had rough rope marks all around her neck, the second had a bruise that covered half of his head, the third had massive talon marks running down her body, the fourth was covered in serious burns, and the fifth's skin was bone dry and had cracks running all along his face.

"No way," breathed Toadiko.

"You guys are the thieves?" cried Mallow.

"Yes, isn't it obvious?" said the hanged figure. "There's only one group of people who would have such a grudge against the game, and that's the executed players!" Jolene gave a cold laugh as she swung around her bag of jewels and adjusted her cowboy hat.

_Shy Guy__: This, I did not see coming._

_Mona__: I couldn't believe my eyes. What were they doing back? It took me a while to accept what was going on._

_Toadiko__: It was just like I had seen in Molesque 2. Each player looked like they had suffered a grizzly execution It was incredibly disturbing._

Before anyone had time to fully process what was going on and respond, Mario stepped forward. "Now everyone, pick somebody to chase, because we're out of here in twenty seconds," ordered the plumber.

The players sent panicked looks back and forth for a few second before anyone could speak up. "I'll chase Wolley!" Toadiko finally declared, approaching her old friend.

"I will pursue Jolene," Timpani said immediately afterward.

"Daisy!" called Mona, striking an offensive pose.

"I'll get Mario," Shy Guy quickly added.

"Which leaves me with Monty," said Mallow, slowly approaching the literal Mole.

A couple seconds later, Mario's watch unleashed a loud beep. "Let'sa go!" he roared. The executed players quickly split off, running in every direction and the players began to give chase through the fog, doing their best to keep track of the figures.

* * *

**Timpani vs. Jolene**

As Timpani climbed out of the valley into the blinding sun, she caught sight of Jolene scurrying towards an alleyway leading into Orangarst. Golden sand sprayed behind Timpani as she dashed in pursuit of the thief. Despite Jolene being the more athletic of the two, Timpani's longer strides allowed her to keep pace.

"Why are you doing this, Jolene?" Timpani called as her feet first met pavement. Jolene cast a silent look back at the player, but kept running. Jolene rounded corner after corner through the cramped set of alleyways, giving Timpani little room for error. Timpani's breaths grew shallower as the chase wound on through the dusty streets. Jolene seemed desperately set on her specific turns, paying no attention to Timpani other than making sure she wasn't about to be grabbed.

Just when Timpani was about to give up the run, Jolene slid to the ground.

_Timpani__: I thought Jolene had tripped. This was going to be my lucky break!_

However, without warning Jolene rolled right into an open, ground-level window. Timpani gracefully jumped to the ground after her and crawled into the window. She plummeted several feet onto a hard, stone floor. Only a small bit of light filtered in from the one window, leaving little details visible to Timpani other than the fact that this was a very large basement. The psychologist began slowly moving through the mostly dark room, hoping to grab Jolene. Before she could go far, four blinding lights switched on, causing Timpani to shield her eyes and step back. When she could finally look, Timpani gave a confused little gasp at what she saw.

"A boxing ring?" she said to herself. Indeed, a full-sized boxing ring sat in the middle of the room. The ring itself was dusty and contained a faded image of some sort of insect. Timpani ascended a set of stairs leading to the red, white, and blue ropes encircling the ring. On the ropes hung a set of green boxing gloves and a protective mouth piece. Timpani gave them a skeptical look.

"You're gonna need to put those on, k?" ordered Jolene, causing Timpani to jump back a little. Her eyes scanned the room, but Jolene was completely out of sight. The player reluctantly slipped on the gloves and secured the (hopefully) clean mouthpiece. "Now get in the ring," she ordered, her tone becoming more menacing.

Timpani nervously climbed through the ropes and stepped into the middle of the ring. "Why should I be doing this, Jolene? What's your plan?"

Jolene ascended a set of stairs on the other side of the ring. She was also sporting a mouthpiece and boxing gloves, though hers were red. "You want your jewels back, right?" she asked. Timpani nervously nodded. "Then you'll have to prove your might and earn them!" she announced. "Let's brawl!" shouted the Mole's first victim, beating her fists together and advancing towards Timpani.

"Woah!" yelped Timpani, taking a step back. "I couldn't hit you!"

"That's no way to talk!" retorted Jolene, taking a jab at the air in front of Timpani. "If you wanna win big in this game you gotta have a fighting spirit!"

Timpani took a reluctant step forward. "If you're okay with it then I guess it's something I must do." She took a deep breath and sent a right hook at Jolene, who quickly stepped out of the way and countered with a quick blow to the stomach. Timpani winced in pain. "Jeez, Jolene!" she gasped. She went for a jab, but was blocked and soon received a punch in the side. "Ow!" she grunted.

Jolene grinned smugly. "I'm not trying to be mean," she said honestly. "But we are having an honorable fight here, so I won't hit light!" She jabbed Timpani again, causing the player to glare.

"Fine then!" growled Timpani, fire gathering in her eyes. She used her comparably long arms to attempt to uppercut Jolene, albeit still not quite at full force. The toad had to take a huge leap back in order to avoid the hit, giving Timpani plenty of time to position her hands to block Jolene's jab. Timpani grinned smugly and tried it again with similar results. She suddenly began to rapidly advance on Jolene, her arms swinging wildly with thoughtless uppercuts. To a trained boxer she would have been easy to stop, but as just a ref, Jolene didn't quite have the instinct to deal with the assault without rapid backward dodges and she was soon backed into a corner.

"Well done," said Jolene honestly. She gave a pleasant smile before unexpectedly sending an uppercut of her own at Timpani. Though she was too short to hit the human's chin, Jolene was able to get another solid hit in the gut, which sent Timpani reeling backwards, retching.

"Should have seen that coming," she groaned, moving back towards Jolene.

_Timpani__: I needed to stay in control. I know how people think and that, along with my height were my best hopes of beating Jolene._

As she approached the toad, Timpani faked a right-hand punch, instead throwing out her left as Jolene attempted to dodge to the left. Jolene was phased by the blow, but was able to quickly retaliate with another jab. Timpani grimaced, but sent a jab of her own. Jolene dodged, but Timpani backed up before Jolene could get her punch out. Right as Jolene started to retract her jab, Timpani charged with an uppercut that connected perfectly with Jolene's jaw. As Jolene attempted to recover, Timpani hit her with a flurry of punches.

"I'm sorry Jolene," she said regretfully before swiping the toad in the side, knocking her to the floor. She paused for a second in shock. "I-i did it!" she cheered, walking to the center of the ring and holding up her arms victoriously.

"You can't count me out yet!" came a call from behind her. Timpani whirled around to see Jolene back up and right behind her.

Timpani jumped back with a shocked yelp. "But I knocked you down!" she said, holding up her gloves defensively.

"I gotta get knocked down three times or stay down for ten seconds," explained Jolene, not attempting to hit Timpani during the explanation. "Now then," she raised her fists, "ready to keep going?"

* * *

**Mallow vs. Monty**

A moment before Timpani exited the valley, Mallow took a floaty jump out of the fog. He was hot on Monty's heels as the Mole's second victim waddled towards Orangarst. Monty quickly made it into the town and began making rapid turns in an effort to lose his puffy pursuer, but Mallow was the faster of the two and after a few straightaways the weatherman managed to grab the Mole.

"Gotcha!" Mallow cheered victoriously, his arms loosely wrapped around Monty's neck. Monty simply replied with a hardy chuckle, baffling Mallow. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin'," snickered Monty with a grin as he fell from Mallow's arms and right into a hole he'd dug with his feet. Mallow attempted to reach out and grab him, but the literal Mole began tunneling away, leaving a trail of disturbed earth behind him. Mallow followed the path for a while as it cut down the lane.

"Sure hope he's gonna fix that," Mallow muttered, glancing at the destruction as Monty turned a corner.

Monty shot out of his hole right in front of a wide cylindrical building with a flat roof. Before Mallow could grab him again, he bolted into the building. Mallow swiftly followed and got inside right in time to see Monty grab a mallet from the wall and run up a staircase. Mallow dashed to the staircase, but paused a moment before ascending to look at the rack where Monty retrieved his hammer. Mallow saw an identical hammer and went over to grab it just in case. The wooden handle was about as long as Mallow was tall and the black mallet head was the size of Mallow's face.

"Howdy," greeted Monty as Mallow ascended the stairway to the roof. The literal mole tilted his stetson downward and strengthened his grip on his hammer. "It seems you want my jewels," he said with a grin. His massive buck teeth blinded Mallow with glare from the sun as he did so. "Let's battle for them!" he announced, holding out his hammer like a sword. "Whoever knocks the other guy off this building wins the jewels. Ready?" Mallow nervously gripped the hammer and nodded. "Yeehaw!"

Monty swung the hammer straight down at Mallow, forcing the nimbian to frightfully scurry to another part of the thirty foot platform. The mallet struck the roof with a stunning crash. Mallow nervously swung his hammer at the Mole, but Monty knocked it aside with his, throwing Mallow off balance. He fell flat on his face, conveniently avoiding Monty's sideways swipe. Mallow rolled out of the way of a vertical strike, yelping as crashed into the spot he had just occupied, and swung his hammer from the ground, successfully striking Monty and sending him rolling a few feet away. Mallow got up and began running towards Monty to get another hit in before he had to deal with an active opponent again, but Monty had already prepared his hammer.

"Stop," began the Mole, countering Mallow's hit. "Hammer time!" he shouted, smacking Mallow away with a second blow. Mallow managed to pull himself up before Monty could quite get to him and the two began madly swinging their hammers, blocking each other's hits each time.

"How's the bruise?" grunted Mallow as he knocked his foe onto his side.

_Mallow: A weird time to be concerned, I know._

Monty put a hand to the bruise covering his head after diving out of the way of a swing. "Nothin' to worry about," he said with a grin. Mallow once again found himself temporarily blinded by the Mole's flashy teeth. This gave Monty the opportunity to send Mallow sliding across the roof. As Mallow looked up he saw, much to his horror, Monty dashing madly at him, hammer prepared to finish the puffball off.

* * *

**Mona vs. Daisy**

Daisy ran backwards down the main avenue of Orangarst, sticking out her tongue mockingly. Mona stuck out her tongue and waved her hands back in retaliation. Daisy, still running backwards, was quick to respond by baring her teeth like fangs before promptly tripping on a rock and landing flat on her back.

Mona grimaced at the painful looking fall. She slowly approached the fallen victim, momentarily taken out of her competitive mood. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she held out a hand.

"I'm fine," grunted Daisy, pulling herself up with a groan. She looked up at Mona awkwardly and practically whispered "thanks" before sprinting down the street once more.

Mona quickly snapped back into her former mood. "Hey, wait up!" she shouted, dashing after her. Daisy had gotten a substantial lead, but Mona was still able to catch sight of the princess running into a building on the corner a few blocks away. Mona trotted up to the building, which sported a set of saloon doors. As she flung open the doors and stepped inside she got a good look at the building. It looked like a standard old west bar. There were sets of small, rotted tables scattered about and the bar's main counter sat at the back of the room.

All of the bar's patrons sat cowering under the tables as Daisy stood facing the counter, firing a super scope into the air. "Daisy!" shouted Mona, her voice wavering slightly. Daisy whirled around to face the player and Mona noticed the bag of jewels tied to her belt. When she tried to make a grab for them, Daisy held out a hand to stop her.

"If you want these jewels so bad, yer gonna have to beat me in a duel!" declared Daisy. She grabbed a super scope that had been laying on one of the tables and tossed it to Mona who fumbled with it for a second. Daisy led Mona out to the middle of the lane and suddenly turned around. "Ten paces," instructed Daisy in an overly serious tone.

A goofy smile crept onto Mona's face as she walked. "I was hoping it'd be this kinda duel!" she muttered to herself. After ten paces, the two turned to face each other, hands perched above their holsters (which in Mona's case was her pocket). Neither seemed willing to take the first move and the tension rapidly mounted.

_Mona__: I knew Daisy was the better shot between us, I needed to take that first shot._

Finally Mona's hand flew to her super scope, yanked it out and started firing rapidly. The first shots missed, giving Daisy a chance to pull out her weapon and fire, but her shots were sent askew as she dove out of the way of more accurate fire. Mona shakily swung the barrel closer to Daisy's exact position, getting closer and closer to striking her opponent with each passing moment. After a few more moments of honing her aim, a shot finally collided with Daisy's shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground.

Daisy began dramatically hyperventilating. "I'm slain!" she wailed, dropping the bag of jewels.

Mona warily approached Daisy, keeping her gun aimed directly at her as she walked across the twenty dusty paces. She walked particularly cautiously once she was within arm's reach of Daisy. Slowly she bent down and grasped the bag of jewels. The moment Mona was up with the bag Daisy sprung to her feet. Mona stared at her, clutching the bag defensively while Daisy only stared blankly back. Without warning, Daisy started sprinting away from Mona, back towards the desert. Her cowboy hat blew off in the sudden movement and drifted to Mona's feet. She grabbed the hat by the brim and placed it lightly on her head.

"Daisy!" she shouted after a moment of shock. Daisy just kept running down the lane, not looking back. Mona took a step forward, but then looked down to the bag of jewels in her hand and stopped with a sigh.

_Mona__: I'd bet that Daisy wouldn't really want me to lose this challenge._

Mona withdrew her step and turned around to walk to the East where the train tracks were located. To her right, she saw the distant outline of a figure jumping from rooftop to rooftop. "Mario?" she muttered to herself. She looked back to the jumping figure and shook her head. "Probably running away like Daisy," she said, deciding not to risk chasing him.

One player has succeeded in taking down their former friend, but how will the other four fare?

* * *

**Author's Notes: As the trend seems to go, after the first update in ages, I've quickly written another one! And I plan on having part 4 come up within the next couple days if I can help it. Today and tomorrow morning are full of alone time where I can really get into the zone, so hopefully that means more updates.**

**But of course that's not quite what you're caring about right now is it? First of all: the executed players are here?! I'm gonna go ahead and clarify that no, none of them are making any sort of permanent return. The cast is staying at five, but the former players are crashing the party at the moment. The other issue at hand is the part's ending. What do I do to follow up a chapter that lacks a cliffhanger? Make a chapter with four cliffhangers of course! Mwahahahahaaaa!**

**If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a review! See you next chapter!**


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